With gas prices going up the pressure is turning up in Washington as political leaders try and find ways to ease the pain at the pump.

During a visit to Meridian this week Republican 3rd District Representative Gregg Harper talked about a proposal to place a pipeline running from Canada to oil refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.

That project was denied in January by the Obama administration because the President says all possible impacts have not been researched, but Harper thinks it all comes down to election year politics.

"It makes no sense it would have created 20,000 jobs almost immediately," says Harper, "and one thing else it would have done is it would have offset some of the global instability in the prices."

With Congress in recess in Washington, Harper spent time in our area this week visiting with constituents and working on his primary campaign.

He's being opposed right now be Republican Robert Allen and Democrat Crystal Biggs.