As somewhat expected the House passed the Keystone XL Pipeline approval bill:
- *HOUSE PASSES KEYSTONE APPROVAL BILL 252-161; SENATE VOTE NOV 18
It is relatively clear that the Senate does not have the votes to be able to overturn and thus it will be forced on to President Obama's desk - "to veto" or "not to veto."
BREAKING: House approves #KeystoneXL [7] pipeline, raises pressure on Pres Obama to act #4jobs [8]: http://t.co/GQBCElGxli [9] pic.twitter.com/RtmEvogSX8 [10]
— Speaker John Boehner (@SpeakerBoehner) November 14, 2014 [11]
As Reuters reports, [12]
"We are going to make it as easy as possible for the Senate to finally get a bill to the president's desk that approves this long-overdue Keystone XL pipeline," said Republican Representative Bill Cassidy from Louisiana, who is sponsoring the House bill.
Approval for the pipeline, which would help transport oil from Canada's oil sands to refineries along the U.S. Gulf coast, has rested with the administration as it crosses an international border.
The decision has been pending for more than six years amid jousting between proponents of the pipeline who say it would create thousands of construction jobs and environmentalists who say it would increase carbon emissions linked to climate change.
Obama, speaking at a news conference in Myanmar on Friday, said his position on the 800,000 barrels per day pipeline had not changed.
...
The White House has not made clear whether Obama would use his veto to block the bill currently before Congress, but he has threatened to use that power in the past.
The Senate was still one vote shy of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster, or blocking procedure, and pass a companion bill, an aide to a Keystone supporter in that chamber said on Friday. The Senate vote is expected next Tuesday.
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[13]
