Senate to vote on Keystone XL pipeline today: report

Senate to vote on Keystone XL pipeline today: report

The proposal has plenty of supporters in Congress, but President Obama is likely to veto the bill and Republicans may not have enough votes to overturn it, leading to a years-long battle.

The Senate will vote on the Keystone XL bill today, a top GOP priority for 2015 that is likely to lead to a clash with President Obama.

Republicans are close to their first successful bill of the year in Congress, but it is likely to be the first step in a battle over the $8 billion pipeline with the White House that could last years, according to a Politico report.

The GOP doesn’t have the votes yet to override the president’s likely veto. House leaders also haven’t decided whether they should vote on the Senate bill or have a bicameral conference on the issue.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is asking Obama to reconsider his veto threat, arguing that the bill made its way through Capital gridlock despite a large amount of amendment votes. McConnell said that he wants to “get Washington functioning again,” according to the report.

Both parties offered more than a dozen amendments, and more will be considered today before the final vote is taken. Only one amendment was passed, but the changes will require the House to pass the bill before Obama will have the opportunity to review the bill.

Meanwhile, the White House is working on its own study of the Keystone XL pipeline, with the EPA, Interior Department, and other federal agencies set to provide analysis to the State Department on whether the Keystone will have a significant environmental impact. An earlier report indicated that it wouldn’t.

Obama has used concerns about an environmental impact as well as a dependence on fossil fuel to fight back against the proposal. He also argues that the plan won’t bring many jobs to the United States despite its $8 billion price tag.

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