US House vote sends Keystone XL approval bill to Obama’s desk
The US House of Representatives voted by 270 to 152 to pass S. 1, which would deem the proposed Keystone XL crude oil pipeline approved more than 6 years after sponsor TransCanada Corp. applied for its presidential crossborder permit. The Feb. 11 action sends the measure to US President Barack Obama’s desk, where it is likely to be vetoed.
GOP energy leaders on both side of the Capitol nevertheless urged Obama to approve the bill. “Now that Congress has spoken overwhelmingly in favor of closer energy ties with Canada, it’s time for President Obama to make a decision,” Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-Alas.) said.
She said, “To me, this is a pretty simple choice between job creation and greater energy security on one hand or more of the status quo on the other.”
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (Mich.) said, “The facts are in; the case is closed: Keystone is good for jobs. It’s good for the environment. It is safe. It makes us more energy secure. We should say ‘yes’ to Canada. The only reason we are still having this debate after 6 years of review is because the president won’t simply make a decision.”
Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (Utah) said, “The ‘Hesitator-in-Chief’ has lost his last alibi. President Obama must either sign this bipartisan legislation or look the American people in the eye and sink the thousands of construction and manufacturing jobs that would flow from approving the Keystone XL.”
The bill also contains a division dealing with energy efficiency improvements, and sections covering consultations with Indian tribes, expressing the sense of the Senate regarding climate change, and expressing the Senate’s sense regarding the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. The House’s action followed the Senate’s passage of S. 1 late last month (OGJ Online, Jan. 30, 2015).
American Petroleum Institute Pres. Jack N. Gerard also called on Obama to approve the bill. “The American people want the 42,000 jobs this pipeline would create. This bipartisan effort shows that Congress is listening to [its] constituents,” he said. “We continue to urge the president to reconsider his veto threat, support the will of the people, and prove that Washington can govern and enact meaningful energy policy.”
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].
Nick Snow
NICK SNOW covered oil and gas in Washington for more than 30 years. He worked in several capacities for The Oil Daily and was founding editor of Petroleum Finance Week before joining OGJ as its Washington correspondent in September 2005 and becoming its full-time Washington editor in October 2007. He retired from OGJ in January 2020.
