Friday, November 14, 2014

House Passes Keystone XL Pipeline Bill

House approves Keystone XL pipeline as Senate vote awaits
The House passed legislation Friday that would green-light the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, as attention now shifts to an upcoming Senate vote next week.

The bill from Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-La., passed 252-161, with all Republicans supporting — except one who voted present — and 31 Democrats joining them. Sens. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and John Hoeven, R-N.D., have floated the same bill in the upper chamber, which is scheduled for a Tuesday vote.

President Obama, however, hinted Friday that he would veto the bill if it reached his desk. He reiterated that he would not let legislation circumvent the review process at the State Department, which has had the application for a cross-border permit needed to build the pipeline's northern leg for more than six years.
This, of course, is absolute bullshit, as the State Department has approved the Keystone XL not once, but twice, and each time the screechers in the environmental lobby funded by billionaire Tom Streyer have found some excuse to get the Preznit to send it back to State for another look for flaws.
"My position hasn’t changed, that this is a process that is supposed to be followed,” Obama said during a press conference in Burma, dashing some speculation that he could OK the legislation as an olive branch to the incoming Republican-led Senate.
Of course, the Republican controlled House has had the ability to pass such a law for a couple of years, only to have it die in Dirty Harry Reid's Democratic Senate.  Now it's a different story, and with Bloody Mary Landrieu (D- Louisiana) seeking to win a runoff election for her seat in the Senate the bill should gain a simple majority easily, but maybe not the 60 votes to survive a filibuster.  My advice to Sen. McConnell? Go nuclear, early and often, until the democrats say "uncle."

The Keystone XL pipeline is broadly popular with the American public. with support of about 65% of those polled, and forcing allowing the Senate Democrats to filibuster the bill or Obama to veto it would not help their party in the 2016 election. The 2014 midterms produced a consensus of the nation that they wanted the Republicans to lead; leaving the Democrats as the party of "no."

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