Keystone XL Pipeline News - On Wednesday, Democrats lawmakers decided to hold a referendum to approve a bill over the Keystone XL Pipeline controversy. The politicians' maneuver could possibly get the bill to President Barack Obama's office and may play a significant role in the Dec. 6 election.
According to the news, the Keystone XL Pipeline System is an oil tube structure in Canada and the United States. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta, Canada to refineries in the United States including in Steele City, Nebraska; Wood River and Patoka, Illinois; and the Gulf Coast of Texas. It carries synthetic crude oil (syncrude) and diluted bitumen (dilbit) from Canada's oil sands and crude oil from North Dakota and Montana's Williston Basin region.
Three phases of the Keystone XL Pipeline project are operational but the fourth is awaiting the US government's approval. The project proposal also faces criticisms from environmentalists and some members of the US Congress. The proposal was rejected by Obama in 2012 but announced to review the controversial project in April 2014.
Based on the latest news of the Keystone XL Pipeline controversy, Senate Democrats may hold a vote on a bill to approve the proposal. According to CNN, the Senate Energy Committee chairwoman and co-sponsor of the bill, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana), pushed both party leaders for a referendum this week, a maneuver that could strengthen the chairwoman's chances for another term victory.
"This has been a project that has lingered far too long. It is clearly supported by 60 or more members of this body," Landrieu said on the Senate floor Wednesday.
The Republican-controlled Congress, which has already voted to approve long-overdue construction pipeline proposal, doesn't want to give Landrieu the credit if the bill passes. CBS News reported the House plans to hold a referendum for its own version of a Keystone XL Pipeline bill on Thursday that will be named the "Cassidy Keystone Solution" after Landrieu's Republican challenger, Bill Cassidy.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama has constantly said he'd rather let the State Department conclude an autonomous review before determining whether to proceed with the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada to Texas. The president also hasn't said whether he would veto Congress' legislation if lawmakers decide to force his hand on the matter.
The Democratic rallying behind the Keystone XL Pipeline came a day after the Obama administration announced a comprehensive bilateral agreement with China to reduce carbon emissions. In a USA Today news report, most Senate Democrats oppose the pipeline on environmental issues that Republicans generally reject.
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