Congress Sends Bill On Keystone XL Pipeline To President

After the House of Representatives last week accepted Senate changes to the Keystone XL pipeline bill, Congress sent the measure to President Barack Obama, who has promised to veto it. Neither the House nor the Senate has a sufficient number of supporters of the legislation to override a veto. The bill would back the building of a pipeline connecting western Canadian oil sands fields with U.S. refineries along the Gulf Coast. The American Chemistry Council, a chemical industry group, supports the measure, saying it would boost U.S. manufacturing. In a 270-152 vote on Feb. 11, the House endorsed Senate amendments to the bill (S. 1), including one that affirms that climate change is real. Twenty-nine Democrats joined Republicans in voting for the measure. Because of Obama’s veto threat, GOP lawmakers are already considering other legislative vehicles to make future vetoes of Keystone XL approval difficult. Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) says, “We will continue to press for approval by attaching an approval measure to another bill, perhaps an energy bill or must-pass appropriations legislation.”