A bill to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline cleared a procedural hurdle 63-32 tonight on its way to President Obama’s veto pen.
The bill from Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) got solid support from the left side of the aisle. Democrats who supported the bill in December — Michael Bennet (Colo.), Tom Carper (Del.), Bob Casey (Pa.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Jon Tester (Mont.), Mark Warner (Va.) — didn’t change their tune, and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Angus King (I-Maine) also voted “yes.”
“Our Keystone XL pipeline bill has gained the support of the American people and bipartisan support in Congress based on its merits,” Hoeven said in a statement. “This evening’s vote means it will now advance to the floor for open debate and every member will have an opportunity to offer amendments they believe will strengthen the bill.”
Under Congress’s authority enumerated in the Commerce Clause, the Hoeven-Manchin bill authorizes TransCanada to construct and operate the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta, Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The pipeline, which has been held up by years of administration delays, is expected to transport an additional 830,000 barrels of oil per day to U.S. refineries, including 100,000 barrels of oil a day from the Bakken region of North Dakota and Montana.
The administration’s opposition to the bipartisan Keystone bill is pitting it against powerful labor unions. Last week, Teamsters president James P. Hoffa sent a letter to all members of Congress stressing that it’s “time to move forward without further delay.”
“Our posture and our position hasn’t changed,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters Friday. “This is a process that is still underway at the State Department. I don’t have any updates for you on that process. As you know, it’s undergoing rigorous review, and we’re going to wait for that review to be concluded before the president makes any decisions.”
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