Energy & Environment

Senate moves to final Keystone vote

by Laura Barron-Lopez 01/29/15 08:44 AM CST

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The Senate on Thursday moved toward final passage of a bill approving the Keystone XL pipeline, voting 62-35 to end debate on the legislation.

“We are very close to the end,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters shortly after the cloture vote.

Republicans are poised to pass the Keystone bill in their first major act as the Senate majority. At least 60 senators are expected to vote to approve the pipeline, and it’s possible the legislation could get 63 votes if nine Democrats vote in favor.

{mosads}President Obama has threatened to veto the legislation authorizing the $8 billion pipeline’s construction, and Republicans do not appear to have the 67 votes necessary to override him.

“We are hoping the president, upon reflection, will sign agree to sign onto a bill that his State Department says could creates 42,000 jobs,”,” McConnell said.

Before reaching Obama, the legislation must first be approved by the House, which has already passed its own bill authorizing the pipeline.

It’s not clear whether the House will simply approve the Senate’s version, or if there will be a conference between House and Senate members to reconcile the two Keystone bills.

The Senate has voted on roughly 35 amendments to the Keystone bill, only five of which have passed.

One of the most memorable was a measure offered by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) that declared “climate change is real and not a hoax.” It passed in a 98-1 vote, with only one Republican voting no.

Another amendment that was adopted added provisions of Sen. Rob Portman’s (R-Ohio) larger energy efficiency package to the Keystone bill.

The victory for Keystone proponents will come after lengthy debate over the $8 billion oil sands project.

Earlier in the week, lawmakers thought a final vote wouldn’t come until next week. But a long Wednesday worknight in the Senate, during which votes were recorded on 11 amendments, brought the chamber closer to finishing its work.

Both parties agreed after Wednesday’s marathon to hold votes on a final batch of amendments Thursday and then to proceed to a final vote.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who was credited with helping shepherd the bill through, reflected on the four-week long debate.

“Thirty-eight amendments to date is nothing to sneeze at,” Murkowski told reporters after the vote to end debate.

“Members are coming together, and all of a sudden you are looking around the floor and realizing that there may be somebody that you can work with on a pipeline safety issue, or there may be somebody you can work with to build a coalition to deal with the land and water conservation fund,” she said.

She added that the debate surrounding the first piece of legislation the Senate is poised to send to Obama is “important” not just for the pipeline, but “for the process and good for the spirit of cooperation as we move forward.”

This story was updated at 1:22 p.m.