House passes Keystone bill
The Republican-led House of Representatives -- for the tenth time in three years -- voted Friday to approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.
The measure passed by a vote of 266 to 153, falling short of the two-thirds support needed in the House to overcome a presidential veto. Twenty-eight Democrats joined Republicans to pass the legislation.
A companion bill is advancing through the Senate, where Republicans now have control, and should make it to the Senate floor next week. The legislation would force the administration to approve the 1,700-mile underground oil pipeline, linking the tar sands fields of northern Alberta, Canada to oil refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.
- Nebraska Supreme Court ruling removes hurdle to Keystone pipeline
- Keystone XL pipeline bill advances in Senate
President Obama has promised to veto the bill. The administration argued in part that it did not want Congress forcing the administration to make a decision on the pipeline before the Nebraska court system approved or rejected the proposed Keystone route.
On Friday, Nebraska's Supreme Court gave its approval of the proposed route. However, White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the administration still opposed the bill. Schultz said the administration would incorporate the court's decision into its evaluation of Keystone, but that congressional action would usurp executive branch authority on the issue. That sort of interference, he said, would prevent "the thorough consideration of complex issues that could bear on U.S. national interests."