President Obama on Wednesday rejected a permit to build and operate a controversial oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. House Republicans tried to force the president's hand, but Obama said a Feb. 21 deadline set by Congress for him to decide on the Keystone XL pipeline made it impossible to complete a review. The president's decision was praised by Sen. Bernie Sanders, a member of the Senate energy and environment committees and one of the leading critics of the pipeline. "In my view, this tar sands pipeline is a bad deal for the country and for our planet, and the president has acted in the best interest of the American people in saying no to Keystone XL," Sanders said.

Read the president's statement »

"The president made the correct decision today in rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline, and I will fight to ensure Congress does not overturn the decision," the senator added.  

"The United States must help lead the world in combating global warming and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It would be incomprehensible to give approval to a tar sands oil project when producing tar sands oil creates 82 percent more carbon emissions than conventional oil, and when it poses the risk of extremely damaging oil spills. I agree with NASA scientist James Hansen who has stated that fully exploiting the tar sands would mean ‘game over' for our efforts to reverse global warming.

"If we are serious about protecting the planet and improving our economy, America's energy future must focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy. We know that by improving the fuel efficiency of our cars and trucks to 54.5 miles per gallon, an easily achievable accomplishment, we can save up to three times more oil per day than Keystone XL would carry."