Tuesday: Keystone, EPA advisory board

Lawmakers in both chambers will spend the day debating environmental and energy policy.

The House will consider a bill sponsored by Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) that would overhaul the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board (SAB). 

{mosads}The White House issued a veto threat against the measure, saying it would “negatively affect the appointment of experts and would weaken the scientific independence and integrity of the SAB.”

The Senate starts at 10 a.m. and after six hours of debate, senators will vote on a bill that approves construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) spearheaded the effort, but could be one vote short of the 60 needed for passage.

Last week, the House passed the same legislative language from Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.). The two lawmakers are battling in a runoff election for the Senate seat.

The Keystone XL pipeline would transport oil from Canada through the United States to Gulf Coast refineries. Environmentalist oppose the project.

The Senate will also hold a procedural vote on whether to proceed to consideration of a bill from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the USA Freedom Act, which seeks to end the National Security Agency’s (NSA) bulk collection of Americans’ telephone records.

The controversial issue dominated the news after Edward Snowden leaked information about the NSA spying program last year. Leahy’s bill would also add a panel of civil liberties advocates to the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and give tech companies additional ways to disclose the information that they are forced to hand over to the government. 

If Leahy gets the 60 votes needed to proceed, the Senate will spend the remainder of the week debating his bill.

The Senate will also vote Tuesday night to confirm three judicial nominations for courts in Georgia.