Keystone XL

Hoyer Sees Potential For Cooperation On Keystone

Brian Beutler | January 31, 2012, 2:07PM

Steny Hoyer speaks at press conference with House Ways and Means Committee Democrats. November 30, 2011.

If Republicans drop their political motivations for pursuing the Keystone XL pipeline, they'll find a sympathetic ear in House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer.

The second most powerful Democrat in the House suggested on Tuesday that both the will and the legislative vehicles exist to move forward on Keystone in a bipartisan fashion if Republicans attach it to forthcoming infrastructure legislation in away that allows the administration to fully assess the project's merits as required under existing law.

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Keystone XL

The GOP's Plan To Corner Obama On The Keystone Pipeline

Sahil Kapur | January 30, 2012, 1:02PM

Republicans are pushing full speed ahead to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline via congressional action after President Obama rejected it on the grounds that the narrow time window he had was insufficient to evaluate the environmental consequences. The strategy is aimed at exploiting Democratic divisions and pushing Obama into a corner politically.

Most Senate Republicans -- along with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (WV) -- are now backing legislation to approve of the Canada-to-Texas pipeline. House Republicans intend to attach it to their upcoming infrastructure bill, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said Sunday.

Even if both chambers of Congress vote to approve the project, Obama can veto the legislation, and it's unlikely he'll get overridden. But that's what Republicans want him to do: repeatedly take a position against the pipeline so they can bludgeon him with it politically.

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Keystone XL

Why The GOP's Pipeline Ploy May Wind Up Killing Keystone

Brian Beutler | January 23, 2012, 5:30AM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) talks with a reporters in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. on November 30, 2011.

House Republicans made a conscious choice to undercut the Keystone XL oil pipeline project, even though members of their own party strongly support it. The politics were too ripe.

But just how badly have they undercut it? It's not a stretch to say that politicking the issue will cost TransCanada -- the firm that was to build the pipeline -- huge sums of money, and may just be the project's death knell.

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Keystone XL

How Republicans Killed Their Own Pet Oil Pipeline Project

Brian Beutler | January 19, 2012, 5:30AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Houser Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA)

At the peak of December's payroll tax cut showdown on Capitol Hill, two top Republican aides discussed with me the pros and cons of making the Keystone XL pipeline a centerpiece of the debate.

They relished the idea of forcing President Obama to take a public stand on the pipeline early in an election year, instead of after the election as he had wanted. And they were eager to force him to choose between supporters in the labor movement, some of whom are pushing for the pipeline, and others in the environmental movement who vehemently oppose it. So they decided to go for it.

At the same time they knew he'd likely have to reject the project, and for them that created a dilemma.

"It's a question of whether we'd rather have the pipeline or the issue," said one of the GOP aides. Black or white.

In the end they chose the issue.

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Keystone XL

Reports: Obama Admin Nixes Keystone Oil Pipeline

Sahil Kapur | January 18, 2012, 12:26PM

The Obama administration has decided not to move forward with the Keystone XL oil pipeline, according to multiple news reports.

The move, which the State Department will reportedly announce Wednesday afternoon, will please environmentalists but anger the business community. It was widely expected after Republicans successfully inserted a provision into the December payroll tax package demanding a decision by the end of February.

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