Following Obama’s veto message Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a statement stating that Congress would continue to pursue approval of Keystone XL.
“Even though the President has yielded to powerful special interests, this veto doesn’t end the debate. Americans should know that the new Congress won’t stop pursuing good ideas, including this one,” he continued.
On the Senate floor, Mr McConnell called on the President to support Keystone XL as a “common sense” project that would support American jobs and be good for the economy.
“The Keystone jobs bill is just common sense. The construction of this important infrastructure project would support thousands of American jobs. It would pump billions into our economy. And the President’s own State Department told us this could be achieved with minimal environmental impact,” he said.
Mr McConnell questioned the reasons behind the veto and reiterated the State Department support for the project.
“It’s hard to even imagine what a serious justification for a veto might beÉAmericans are urging President Obama to finally heed scientific conclusions his own State Department already reached. There’s no reason for the President to ignore that science any longer. Republicans and Democrats, labor unions and businesses – we’re all calling on him to finally allow American workers to build an infrastructure project that just makes sense.”
TransCanda President and CEO Russ Girling issued a statement following the veto, saying “TransCanada remains fully committed to Keystone XL despite today’s veto of bipartisan legislation in support of the project. The facts show Keystone XL passes the national interest determination test and President Obama’s climate test.”
“As we have done throughout the permitting process, TransCanada will keep working in good faith with the US Department of State and other federal agencies to address any outstanding concerns with regard to Keystone XL, including those that were most recently raised by the EPA,” he said.
The bill passed by 270-152 in the House earlier this month and cleared the Senate in January. Despite their majority in the Senate, Republicans are four votes short of being able to override Obama’s veto.
The pipeline would carry 830,000 bbl/d of mostly Canadian oil sands petroleum to Nebraska en route to refineries and ports along the US Gulf. It has been pending for more than six years.