Ag Policy Blog

Though the Republican-led Congress is kicking off the new session this week by pushing through legislation in both the House and Senate to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, the actions appear that they will be largely symbolic.

President Barack Obama vowed on Tuesday to veto any Keystone legislation, holding to the administration line that Republicans have to let the approval process play itself out at the U.S. State Department. This is the case although the administration has studied and re-studied the proposal for about six years.

On Tuesday TransCanada first touted efforts in Congress to move bills aimed at building the pipeline, only later to issue another statement expressing disappointment at the president's intentions.

"The review process for Keystone XL has been anything but a 'well-established process,' " TransCanada President and Chief Executive Officer Russ Girling said in a statement. "For decades the normal process to review and make a decision on an infrastructure project like Keystone takes two years. The review for our base Keystone pipeline took exactly this long just a few years ago. We are well over the six-year mark reviewing the final phase of Keystone with seemingly no end in sight. The bar continues to move again and again.

"TransCanada has patiently and diligently worked since 2008 complying with every twist and turn in this unparalleled process. We have done this to ensure Keystone XL is built and operated safely and the State Department has concluded time and again this can be done. To be clear this is just a pipeline. Not the first. Not the last –- just a safe and reliable pipeline that delivers energy Americans need. It's time to make a decision."

By the end of the day Tuesday environmental groups and landowners already were declaring victory before Congress took a single vote on a single piece of legislation this week. A Senate committee has scheduled a hearing Wednesday on proposed legislation, while the House has signaled that it could pass a bill as early as Friday.

Jane Kleeb, director of Bold Nebraska: "Farmers and ranchers along the route thank President Obama for standing up to the climate deniers in Congress by stating he will veto the risky Keystone XL bill. Republicans' first order of business is to write a law for one foreign corporation. That is unacceptable and shows Republicans are not up to the job of governing. The presidential veto is both warranted and very welcomed news as it's one more day the Sandhills, the Ogallala Aquifer and property rights are protected."

Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org: "This is a tribute to the millions of people who have made this one of the center pieces of a fast growing climate movement. So far their desire to protect the land and climate have been a match for the fountains of dirty money that constitute the oil industry's only real argument."

Amanda Starbuck, climate program director with Rainforest Action Network: "This is a testament to the dedication and resolve of millions of grassroots activists who have for years fought to stop this pipeline, against all odds. Together this movement has marched, written letters, sat in at the White House and along the route of the pipeline, and self-organized a large-scale network ready to do whatever it takes to win a rejection on Keystone. It's an important day for the climate and for communities when the President decides to side with the people over the fossil fuel corporations who are wrecking our climate for profit."

Peter Galvin, director of programs at the Center for Biological Diversity: "It's encouraging to see President Obama stand up to the bullies in Congress who want to ram this project through. Keystone would be a disaster for our climate and wildlife, so here's hoping this is his first step toward killing this project once and for all. This is the moment where we need President Obama to stand strong and on the right side of history. Keystone and projects like it have driven us into the climate crisis. The first step toward getting us out of this hole is to stop digging deeper."

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