WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Keystone XL oil sands pipeline might get a new lease on life if Senate Republicans succeed in going around President Obama with new legislation filed Monday, The Hill reports. The GOP leaders are trying to get the project approved under the Commerce Clause, which gives Congress certain powers to bypass the president.
This proposal goes beyond the Republican amendment to last year€™s payroll tax cut agreement that gave the administration a deadline to decide on the project. The TransCanada Corp.€™s pipeline will carry oil sands crude from Alberta to the Gulf Coast. However, Obama rejected the project last week, ahead of the deadline.
"This new bill is a lot like the old one, but it makes it definitive that Congress has the authority to push the Keystone XL pipeline forward," said Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), one of the bill€™s sponsors. Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Dick Lugar (R-IN) also support the legislation.
A recent Congressional Research Service analysis found that the executive branch has usually okayed any facilities that crossed borders, but Congress also has power to do so, too. "[I]f Congress chose to assert its authority in the area of border-crossing facilities, this would likely be considered within its constitutionally enumerated authority to regulate foreign commerce," the analysis stated.
The senators and others supported the pipeline as a way to create jobs, among other benefits. "President Obama€™s opposition is not in the best interest of the United States. The president has failed to lead but we will not stop trying to complete this critical supply line," said Lugar in a statement.
However, environmental activists are against the pipeline because of concerns about possible spills, ecological changes to oil sands, and greenhouse gas emissions. But Senate Republicans have a long road ahead to gain passage of the bill, which Obama is highly likely to veto.
NACS, along with more than 100 industry organizations including, sent a letter to Obama urging his support of Keystone XL.