House approves bill on Keystone pipeline

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Congress inched closer Friday to a possible showdown with President Barack Obama over the Keystone XL oil pipeline as the Republican-controlled House approved the project. Supporters in the Democratic-run Senate predicted they will get the 60 votes needed to pass it next week.

The House vote was 252-161 in favor of the bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-La., in an effort to boost his chances to take a Louisiana Senate seat away from Democrat Mary Landrieu. The two are headed for a Dec. 6 runoff and have been touting their energy credentials in the oil- and gas-producing state.

Should the Senate send the bill to Obama for his signature, he would face a decision that pits some of his environmental concerns about the pipeline, mainly its consequences for global warming, against potentially helping a fellow Democrat making a long-shot bid to retain her Senate seat.

The House bill was supported by 221 Republicans, with not a single GOP lawmaker voting against it. Thirty-one Democrats backed the bill, and 161 rejected it.

“This will make it easier for the Senate to do right by the American people and finally vote on building the pipeline,” Cassidy said in a statement after the vote.

The bill’s passage marked the ninth time the House had passed a bill to speed up the pipeline’s construction.

Landrieu pushed the Senate to have its upcoming vote on the measure. In a call with reporters from Louisiana, where she was campaigning, Landrieu called herself the “sparkplug” to get the Keystone bill through Congress. The House bill is identical to one introduced by Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., and Landrieu in May.

“This bill was drafted to go the distance,” said Landrieu.

As of Friday, supporters of the measure appeared to have at least 59 of the 60 Senate votes they would need for approval next week. That included all 45 Republicans and 14 Democrats.

Landrieu conceded, though, that it is unlikely the Senate or House will have the two-thirds majorities that would be needed to override an Obama veto of the bill. She said she did not know Obama’s plans.

“He most certainly understands my position,” Landrieu said. “He understands that there are 15-plus Democrats in the Senate that really want to build the Keystone pipeline.”

If the bill fails to pass the Senate next week, Hoeven said he would reintroduce it next year when Republicans will control the chamber. That would make it one of many showdowns expected with Obama over energy and environmental policy after Republicans take full control of Congress in January.