Ashlyn's AP Government and Politics Blog

Unit 4
April 7, 2015

House Passes Keystone Bill, Sending It To Obama For Veto

Summary:

The Keystone XL Pipeline has to one of the most argued and most controversial topics in Congressional history. On Wednesday February 11, 2015, the House of Representatives passed the Senate's version of legislation approving construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The bill passed by a vote of 270-152 and was then sent to President Obama's desk for a much anticipated veto. This is the 11th time the House has voted on a bill to force approval of Keystone. It has been 7 years since the 1200 mile long pipeline was first proposed and parts of it are already under construction. Many lawmakers believe that the pipeline will create needed jobs but environmentalists and land owners argue that it would cause more harm then it would good. The Keystone XL veto marks President Obama's 3rd rejection of Congressionally approved legislation during his six years in office.

Analysis:

The long expected veto has come and while some are happy about the President's decision, others are not quite as satisfied. This 8 million dollar project could cause damage to the environment it runs through but others say it would raise U.S. energy independence and the economy as well. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said "We build pipelines all around America every single day. Keystone has been reviewed and approved numerous times. Even the president's own State Department will say that it creates 42,000 new jobs." He believes that with the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline thousands of new jobs will be created and that the President should listen to what the American people want and stop standing on the far left side with the extremists. Obama said that the bill "attempts to circumvent long-standing improving processes used for determining whether or not building and operating a cross-border pipeline serves the national interest." This is the first time that Obama has rejected a bill since the Republicans took full control of Congress this year. The Republicans would need to get a 2/3 majority vote in the House and Senate to override the veto. While the Keystone XL pipeline is at the top of their priorities, neither chamber has enough votes to override a presidential veto. I believe that the pipeline could be very beneficial but I do agree with the fact that dangers do come with the construction of the pipeline.