White House Confirms Obama Will Veto TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline
The White House confirmed today that President Obama will veto Congressional legislation designed to greenlight construction of the Keystone XLpipeline, the contentious project first proposed six years ago to carry more than 800,000 barrels per day of Canadian oilsands crude from Alberta to refineries and export facilities along the Gulf of Mexico.
Despite strong indications of support in Congress, the Obama Administration has already indicated it will veto the bill to expedite approval of the $8 billion project if approved. A similar bill was blocked by Democrats in the Senate in November.
“If this bill passes this Congress the president won’t sign it either,” Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, said. Obama rejected TransCanada’s application to build the pipeline in 2012, suggesting congressional Republicans had set a “rushed and arbitrary deadline” for the project’s approval.
The bill, proposed by Republican Senator John Hoeven from North Dakota and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia, will be debated in a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing Wednesday with the panel set to vote on the project Thursday.
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