Keystone XL bill clears hurdle despite Obama's veto threat
By Zack Colman | January 8, 2015 | 12:39 pm
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee sent a bill to the floor Thursday authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline — but the real work for both opponents and supporters will begin after a full Senate vote.
With President Obama issuing a veto threat of the legislation, the committee knew it was wading into heady waters when it gave the bill a 13-9 vote, with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., joining Republicans in favor of the bill. But committee chairwoman Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the panel should forge ahead.
"There's a veto threat out there, but I don't think that that threat should deter us," the Alaska Republican said Thursday. The House, meanwhile, will vote on and likely pass similar legislation Friday.
The bill would green-light construction of the Canada-to-Gulf Coast oil sands pipeline, which has been under federal review for more than six years. The White House issued the veto threat because it said it wanted to continue with the State Department review, which is on hold until the Nebraska Supreme Court determines whether a 2012 law that sped approval of a new pipeline route is constitutional.
It has 60 co-sponsors in the Senate, enough to clear procedural hurdles to hold a vote, and lead sponsors Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., and Manchin said that 63 would give it the thumbs up on the floor. Noting the difficulty of getting to 67 votes to override a veto, Hoeven said he would consider wrapping the bill into broader energy legislation or into a spending bill that Obama might sign.
But Democrats, now in the minority, are playing the part Republicans did last session by hoping to offer amendments that satisfy their base while potentially making the legislation less appealing to the GOP. Democrats will look to offer measures, such as whether they agree with scientists that humans largely drive climate change through burning fossil fuels, that put Republicans on record for views they consider extreme.
"I think that is quite likely, and how afield we can go afield ... depends on Senator [Mitch] McConnell [R-Ky.]," Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told reporters.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who caucuses with Democrats, tested those waters early because he's concerned the 1,700-mile pipeline would lock in dependence on the oil sands that he said would contribute to climate change. He floated an amendment that would ask the Senate whether it thought "climate change is real," that it's "caused by human activities" and "already caused devastating problems" and that it is "imperative that the United States transform its energy system away from fossil fuels."
The amendment isn't likely to get the 60 votes it will need to get attached to the legislation. But it hints at the contentious battle over other energy legislation over the next two years, though Murkowski relished the opportunity to have those debates.
"I don't think it becomes a risk. I think it becomes part of the process. What you saw reflected here was differing views, differing perspectives, each one with its own constituency, if you will. And when you build a legislative work product, it's important to recognize that you're going to have some different perspectives," she told reporters after the hearing.
McConnell, the Senate majority leader, said the amendment process on the floor could begin Monday, a process that he told Hoeven could last "several weeks." That could bring a number of provisions from the fringes of both parties, leaving it uncertain whether the legislation will gain or lose support.
Murkowski signaled that lawmakers would have a chance to address their priorities throughout the session, which could holster some measures. She noted, for example, that the committee would have a hearing on legislation to fast-track natural gas exports next week, and that hearings on electric grid reliability and nuclear waste storage are forthcoming.
The other measure floated was rather milquetoast — Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said he would introduce one that boosts energy efficiency at federal agencies and water heaters. But Murkowski said she expected more to be offered when the bill hit the floor.
Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan sent a memo Sunday to their caucus urging them to unite on the Keystone XL vote.
"Consideration of this bill will provide us with the first opportunity to demonstrate that we will be united, energetic, and effective in offering amendments that create a clear contrast with the Republican majority," said the senators, who co-chair the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.
Some of the amendments Democrats plan to offer include ensuring steel made to build the pipeline comes from the U.S., creating one clean energy job for every job the pipeline adds, and preventing the oil sands Keystone XL would transport from being exported.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/keystone-xl-bill-clears-hurdle-despite-obamas-veto-threat/article/2558367"There's no guarantee that we get that oil," Stabenow said during the committee hearing.
