Unit 4

House Passes Keystone Bill, Sending It To Obama For Veto

Summary: The Keystone XL pipeline is probably one of the most controversial, most debated topics in Congressional history. The House has just recently passed a bill (270-152) that approves the construction of the pipeline. This is the eleventh time that the House has voted on a measure to approve the pipeline, and this bill is very similar to the one that was previously passed just with a few amendments. The Senate approved the same bill on January 29, 2015. The bill will now be sent to the President who is most likely going to veto it, making this only the third veto of his presidency. The State Department also has a big say in what happens since the pipeline will cross an international border. Even though the Senate and the House have a majority made up of Republicans, neither chamber has enough votes to override the President’s veto. 

Analysis: Obama did end up vetoing the bill, and the Senate tried to override his veto but failed. The Senate vote was 62-37, with all of the Republicans and a few Democrats voting in favor of an override. Most Democrats, and a lot of environmentalists, are against the Keystone XL Pipeline while Republicans are in favor of it. The Pipeline is said to be either the key to solving America’s economic problems, or a major environmental disaster. The Republicans say that the Pipeline project will create 42,000 jobs, but the Democrats are against the Pipeline because of the damage to the environment. I think that America should refine its own oil and not depend so much on other countries, so therefore the Pipeline could be a good thing, but I also care about the environment. It might also make me a little more upset if I was someone who lived somewhere where the Pipeline was going to be laid, like in Nebraska.

                                 

Resources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/11/house-keystone-veto_n_6663392.html?utm_hp_ref=house-of-representatives

http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-keystone-veto-override-20150304-story.html