Legislation to authorize the beginning of construction on the $3.3-billion Keystone XL pipeline has cleared the House and Senate. But project advocates' victory may be short-lived: President Obama has vowed to veto the bill when it reaches his desk.
The House has approved a measure to authorize building the Keystone XL pipeline, but the 270-152 vote fell short of the two-thirds majority required to override a promised presidential veto.
The Senate has approved legislation authorizing construction to begin on the controversial and long-delayed $3.3-billion Keystone XL oil-pipeline project. The Senate passed the bill on Jan. 29 by a 62-36 vote.
The controversial $3.3-billion Keystone XL pipeline has cleared two more hurdles, with a Nebraska court victory and House passage of a bill authorizing the project's construction, but the White House says its threat to veto the pipeline legislation still stands.
House and Senate supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline are moving quickly in the new Congress on legislation that would advance the long-pending $3.3-billiion project toward construction.
The Senate has narrowly rejected a proposed extension of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline, falling one vote short of the 60 needed to end debate on a bill that would authorize the project to proceed.
Construction industry and union groups are blasting the Obama administration for again postponing a decision on the proposed $5.3-billion Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Only days before the U.S. State Dept. released its long-awaited environmental review of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, the company applying to build it, TransCanada Corp., experienced its third major pipeline rupture since October.
Public Citizen, a citizens advocacy group, has raised questions about the quality of the construction on the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline, which runs from Cushing, Okla., to refineries along the Gulf Coast of Texas. The segment is expected to begin operating by the end of the year.
