Senate approves Keystone, Obama veto looms
The Senate voted Thursday to approve the Keystone XL pipeline on a 62-36 vote, setting up a clash with President Barack Obama, who has vowed to kill the bill with just his third veto in six years. The Keystone billâs three-week gallop included votes on more than 40 amendments, but the bill still lacks the support in both the Senate and the House to override a presidential veto. Story Continued Below Yet the debate drew praise from Democrats and Republicans alike as a sign the Senate had left behind the gridlock that has stymied legislation for years, and it could now pick up its pace while giving the minority a chance to influence policymaking. But the debate failed to win over any lawmakers from the solid bloc of Democrats who were unwilling to undercut Obama and approve a pipeline thatâs long been a top priority for the oil and gas industry. âTime and time again Republicans pledge their allegiance to foreign special interests above the American middle class,â New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, Democratsâ third-ranked leader, told reporters. Despite the intensity of the debate in Congress, Keystone is still largely where it began: a symbol to Republicans of the White Houseâs hostility to fossil fuels, and to Democrats as another effort by GOP to do the bidding of Big Oil. Senior Republicans have not yet agreed on whether the pipeline bill will head to the House for a second vote, thanks to changes the Senate made this month, or go to bicameral conference talks. House Speaker John Boehner praised Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell âfor passing this bill in an open, inclusive, and bipartisan way,â and urged Obama to walk back a threat to veto âthis common-sense bill that would strengthen our energy security.â The White House did not back down, reiterating on Thursday its intention to veto the Keystone bill. Overriding Obama would require four more Democratic votes in the Senate and dozens more in the House, where 28 Democrats joined the GOP in approving the pipeline bill earlier this month. Obama has not said whether he would approve the permit that would allow TransCanada to build the pipeline that would link Canadaâs oil sands to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The White House has said it opposed the legislation in the Congress because it would remove the decision from the executive branch. Republicans already are discussing plans to attach the pipeline to upcoming measures that could prove difficult for Obama to reject, such as annual government spending bills. But the Keystone clock may already be working against them. The State Department has told other federal agencies to weigh in by Monday on its year-old finding that the $8 billion project is unlikely to have a significant environmental impact, an indication that the administration is in the final stages of its six-year Keystone review. A final recommendation from State on whether Keystone is in the national interest could come as soon as this month. Although there is no binding deadline for Obama to make the final decision on a border-crossing permit for the pipeline, he has repeatedly expressed a dim view of its economic benefits in recent months. TransCanada CEO Russ Girling praised todayâs vote, which he noted was the 10th time the Senate had passed a measure to support the pipelineâs construction. âEvery barrel of Canadian and American oil transported by Keystone XL replaces imports from overseas â and improves U.S. and North American energy independence,â he said in a statement. American Petroleum Institute CEO Jack Gerard warned that leaving the pipeline in limbo could have a significant impact on oil and gas transportation plans throughout the country. âThe fact is that if all other infrastructure projects are delayed like Keystone XL, we are years away from approving anything that could create jobs and enhance our energy security,â Gerard said in a statement. Despite the Keystone billâs poor prospects at becoming law, Senate Republicans welcomed the vote that gave their new majority its first legislative accomplishment and drew three new Democratic supporters â Sens. Michael Bennet (Colo.), Bob Casey (Pa.) and Tom Carper (Del.) â more fully behind their Keystone effort. In addition to that trio, six Democrats who have previously supported Keystone joined with every Republican to pass the Keystone bill. Democrats and environmentalists also saw bright spots in the vote: They prevented the GOP from peeling off new Keystone supporters in Obamaâs party and opened up some cracks in the Republicanâs rhetoric on climate change. âThe only positive aspect of this debate has been that some amendments did put senators on the record on issues that truly matter â starting with climate change,â the Natural Resources Defense Councilâs Canada project director, Danielle Droitsch, said in a statement on the Keystone vote. Tom Steyer, the billionaire environmentalist who poured more than $50 million into Democratic candidatesâ campaigns during last yearâs midterms, urged Obama to follow up EPAâs carbon regulations and his emissions pact with China by rejecting Keystone to âtruly solidify Americaâs legacy as a global leader on climate.â