Senate debates, then barely rejects, Keystone XL approval bill

The US Senate finally debated a bill authorizing construction of the proposed Keystone XL crude oil pipeline on Nov. 18 before rejecting the measure by a single vote. Republicans vowed to bring the measure back once they assume majority control in January.

Twelve Democrats joined 37 Republicans in supporting S. 2280, which Energy and Natural Resources Committee member John Hoeven (R-ND) and Committee Chairwoman Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.) introduced on May 5. Independents Angus King (Me.) and Bernie Sanders (Vt.) joined 39 Democrats in voting it down.

“Today, we did not gain the 60 votes necessary in the Senate to pass my bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline,” Hoeven said following the bill’s defeat. “Even had it passed, however, [US President Barack Obama] has indicated that he intends to veto the bill. I believe we will have the votes to pass the bill in January when a number of new senators who support my legislation take office and the new Congress begins.”

Hoeven said he would reintroduce the bill at that time, “possibly as part of a broader energy package or appropriations bill that the president will not want to veto.”

Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) reportedly let the bill come to the floor once Landrieu was forced to defend her seat in a Dec. 6 runoff with US Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) after failing to get a majority in the Nov. 4 election.

Cassidy wrote a similar bill, which the House passed by 252 to 161 votes, with 31 Democrats joining Republicans in support of the measure (OGJ Online, Nov. 14, 2014).

‘A clean bill’

Toward the end of the Senate’s day-long debate, Landrieu defended bringing S. 2280 to the floor. “It’s not the beginning or the end, but a part of our larger oil and gas pipeline infrastructure,” she said. “Six years is a long time for any project to be considered. We’re not circumventing the process. We got the final report on [Keystone XL from the US Department of State] in January, and Sen. Hoeven and I introduced our legislation in May as a clean bill without bells and whistles that kept being added in the House.”

Patty Murray (D-Wash.) disagreed. “This legislation would bypass established regulatory procedures before we have all the facts,” she said. “That’s a dangerous precedent. We shouldn’t put expediency above science in something this important.”

Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) raised health concerns as she led the opposition. “None of the big oil companies will talk about this,” she said. “The Koch brothers won’t, and my Republican friends certainly won’t. Well, I will.” She described problems in Alberta, where oil sands are mined, and along the US Gulf Coast, where the diluent that would move through the pipeline would be refined.

“People are sick around the tar sands,” Boxer charged. “XL stands for Extra Lethal. Misery follows the tar sands.”

Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) wondered why DOS had to issue five final environmental impact statements on a single pipeline project. “If this bill passed today—and how convenient we finally get to work on it just before an election in Louisiana—would President Obama quit straddling the fence and finally make a decision?” he asked.

“Otherwise, when the new Senate convenes in January, it will make this one of the first orders of business,” Roberts said.

‘Think before you vote’

Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) commended Landrieu for working hard to get the bill to the floor because the Senate needed to talk about it. “Think before you vote today about what you’re saying to this country’s most significant trading partner,” he said. “I do not believe we should be in unstable parts of the world chasing oil. We should be working with our closest neighbor who’s a reliable trading partner instead.”

Lisa Murkowski (R-Alas.), the Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s Ranking Minority Member, said, “What you’d have after completing Keystone XL is a lifeline to our friends in Canada so we’d be more energy secure. Artificial choke points will be created in North America if we don’t proceed with it. We already have choke points already in some of the world’s unstable oil producing areas.”

Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) noted, “I don’t think anyone expected it to take 6 years to approve this project. Anyone who says we should let the process play out isn’t facing reality. This isn’t about stopping oil sands development in Canada. It’s about building a pipeline and bringing some of that oil south.”

Sees growing support

In a response following the Nov. 18 vote, Russ Girling, chief executive of TransCanada Corp., the project’s sponsor, said that it and the one 4 days earlier in the House “demonstrates a growing and high level of support for Keystone XL…. We will continue to push for reason over gridlock, common sense over symbolism, and solid science over rhetoric.”

American Petroleum Institute Pres. Jack N. Gerard said a handful of senators defied the American public’s will and blocked a final decision. “Keystone XL is not going away. The president will have to deal with it, if not now then next year,” he said. “We will work with the new Congress to focus on getting this important jobs project approved. We will not give up until the pipeline is built.”

American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers Pres. Charles T. Drevna said, “Despite being filibustered in the Senate, 59 senators supported joining the House by immediately approving the long delayed Keystone XL Pipeline. Mr. President, here’s your opportunity to acknowledge that you heard the American public and the vast majority of both chambers of Congress. It’s time to say yes to Keystone and yes to tens of thousands of new shovel-ready jobs.”

Prior to the Senate’s vote, National Association of Manufacturers Pres. Jay Timmons, Business Roundtable Pres. John Engler, and US Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice-Pres. R. Bruce Josten wrote Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urging Keystone XL approval without further delay because building it is so obviously in the US national interest.

Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].