Transporting Canadian tar-sands oil to U.S. refineries
Newly empowered Republicans keen to strike a symbolic blow against President Barack Obama’s divisive energy policy have a ready-to-launch opening salvo: Keystone, a controversial pipeline transporting Canadian tar-sands oil to U.S. refineries.
Tuesday’s midterm elections ushered in a new Republican majority in the Senate, and incoming leader Sen. Mitch McConnell is believed to have enough votes to overcome blocking tactics by Democrats when he puts forward legislation to approve the $7 billion pipeline.
The environmentally sensitive, 1,179-mile (1,897-km) project has been under consideration since virtually the first day of Obama’s presidency six years ago, and has served as a rallying cry for Republicans — and some Democrats in energy-industry states — desperate to boost U.S. oil and gas production and create jobs.
When the new Congress opens for business on Jan. 3, the Senate leadership will join the Republican-led House of Representatives in pressing ahead with energy legislation.
The Republicans elected to the Senate this week are on record supporting Keystone, as are all Republicans currently in the chamber.
And senators in Alaska, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia were among Democrats who wrote a letter to Obama last April urging him to use his executive authority to push the Keystone process forward.