Senate Passes Keystone Pipeline Bill

In January 2015, the Senate passed a bill approving the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. However, the president has threatened to veto the bill, putting the future of the oil pipeline in doubt.

A bipartisan group of 53 Republicans and nine Democrats backed the bill in the Senate, allowing the bill to pass with a majority of 62 to 36. However, the majority was not big enough to allow the Senate to override a presidential veto, so President Obama has the final say in whether or not the construction of the oil pipeline can go ahead.

The purpose of the Keystone XL pipeline is to transport crude oil from the tar sands in Alberta. Proponents of the pipeline argue that the oil pipeline will create manufacturing jobs. According to the TransCanada Corporation and the American Petroleum Institute, the project could create as many as 20,000 manufacturing jobs, but some politicians and industry experts don't believe that claim. The construction of the oil pipeline is likely to lead to only 50 long-term jobs in the United States, although it could also lead to a lot of indirect job creation.

Speaking after the Senate passed the bill, House Speaker John Boehner said that he hoped that President Obama would drop his opposition to the bill. Boehner described the bill as a "common-sense bill" that would increase energy security and create thousands of well-paid jobs.

Most Democrats believe that the bill offers few benefits to the U.S. economy or people. They claim that the foreign oil company that will use the pipeline plans to export most of the oil. They favor an alternative version of the bill, passed by the House, which would force the company to construct the oil pipeline using American steel and ban exports of the oil. It also includes some environmental protections, such as protection for water resources. However, the Senate only agreed to include an amendment relating to energy efficiency.

Even the amended bill is unpopular with environmentalists, who argue that the United States needs to stop exploiting oil resources and switch to greener, cleaner, renewable methods of energy production. Environmental groups have called on Obama to use his presidential veto to block the bill, claiming that it will result in the release of millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which they argue could speed up climate change.

President Obama has the right to veto the Keystone XL oil pipeline bill because the proposed pipeline would cross an international border. With strong arguments both in favor of and against the bill, the president faces a difficult dilemma in deciding whether or not to allow the construction of the oil pipeline to go ahead.

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