President Obama on Tuesday threatened to veto House Republican legislation that would reauthorize surface-transportation programs in part because the bill contains energy-related provisions including one to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.
The bill to reauthorize surface-transportation programs through fiscal 2016 beyond March 31 includes measures that would require leases in new offshore areas, direct the Interior Department to issue commercial leases for oil-shale development and open up a small area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling. It also contains a provision approving the Keystone XL oil pipeline, for which the Obama administration denied a permit on Jan. 18.
The White House said the bill could threaten the environment and circumvent environmental review processes in the areas it would open to oil-and-gas production. That complaint comes in addition to other criticisms of the bill’s transportation provisions.
“This bill seeks to circumvent a longstanding process for determining whether cross-border pipelines are in the national interest by mandating the permitting of the Keystone XL pipeline project despite the fact that the pipeline route has yet to be identified and there is no complete assessment of its potential impacts, including impacts on health and safety, the economy, foreign policy, energy security, and the environment,” a White House statement said.
Republicans have pushed furiously to approve the pipeline through legislative means. They have called the Obama administration’s denial of a permit a tactic to punt the politically challenging decision until after the election, and they also say it’s high time for a pipeline they contend would create jobs and bring needed oil from a friendly ally.
The veto threat came as Republicans planned to break apart the transportation package into pieces for separate consideration, after lawmakers filed nearly 300 amendments for the legislation, including more energy-related provisions.
“Republicans pledged to pass bills in a more transparent manner and reverse the era of quickly moving massive bills across the floor without proper examination,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier, R-Calif., said in a joint statement.
The $260 billion legislation’s components went through various House panels en route to the floor, where they were merged into one bill. Now Republicans want separate debate and votes on the legislation’s transportation and energy components and on a third element that would fund some of the transportation spending by boosting public-employee contributions to pensions. The pieces would then be re-merged.
The GOP says the legislation would create millions of jobs and expand domestic energy production, all while paying for five years of surface transportation programs. “By breaking down government barriers to domestic energy production, it will ease rising gas prices and create up to a million new jobs,” Boehner said Thursday.
A House floor vote won’t come before lawmakers sort through the proposed amendments, many of which relate to energy.
Democrats planned to offer one amendent to eliminate tax breaks for the oil-and-gas industry and another to require the Keystone XL oil to stay in the U.S. unless the president says otherwise for security or economic reasons.
Republican energy amendments, meanwhile, sought to target environmental rules. One would bar the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating coal ash and transfer the issue to the states.
It’s still unclear how many of these amendments will actually come up for consideration on the House floor. The House Rules Committee was scheduled today to screen them for floor consideration.
Many Democrats in the Senate have warned against loading up a bill crucial to the economy with unrelated and/or controversial provisions including expansion of drilling into new areas and the Keystone XL language.
Some Republicans also have expressed concerns about the bill’s ANWR provision, saying it’s politically sensitive enough to threaten the legislation’s chances in the Senate. The provision’s proponents have said only the parts of ANWR set aside for drilling under President Jimmy Carter would be opened.
A group of top Democrats sent a letter to House GOP leaders today calling the move to split the legislation into parts “at best … a thinly veiled attempt to force through bad legislation that many of your own Members do not support.”
The Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, sought to dub the House legislation “the worst transportation bill ever” in a conference call with reporters Tuesday. The group has taken issue with the legislation’s transportation provisions, as well as the ones expanding oil-and-gas production and approving the Keystone XL pipeline.
Throw all of that worthless bills and start all over. We do not want the Keystone Pipeline. You congressman and senators are not listening to the people. 800,000 signature petition was hand delivered today to the senate. You people need to wake up. You might not be around the next go around.
We dont want the keystone pipeline?? Speak for yourself buddy!
China needs that oil to make our electronics. We have enough low-wage jobs as it is.
Job loss, no transparency, bowing down and apologizing for the US to foreign governments, his Illegal Alien Welfare Sucking Aunt, Solyndra, excessive government regulation, failure to allow GOM oil and gas development, increased healthcare costs, increased taxes, bigger government, increased welfare rolls, longer unemployment benefits, higher taxes, more energy dependence on non-friendly nations (OPEC),yes harr1234, you think just like Obama and Reid. Why doesn’t the US just throw money at OPEC and move the “poor” to luxury houses at Taxpayers’ expense? BTW, who will be paying taxes since there is no incentive to work because under Obama, it’s more cost effective to be on welfare than to work. Just what has he done to create Job Growth, help the Economy? I see no improvement from the Community Organizer-only despair and higher taxes and more government and more welfare.
This pipeline will exactly the opposite of what proponents are saying. It will raise prices here because of the plans to pipe North Dakota and Montana oil to refineries in an international free trade zone. That tar sands oil and our own oil will be going overseas, raising prices here. That hurts our economy and COSTS us jobs. A few temporary jobs are not worth the long term costs and risks.
Those touting the oil pipe line. Ask your self, why is it going to the gulf? The tar sands are still being mined today…. you know where its refined? In the midwest. So if you want a pipeline why not to those refineries that are currently doing the work? Instead of a pipeline all the way across the US? Why? Cause once that oil is refined its not destined for our shores anyways. Its to give it easy access to the Gulf so if can be shipped to Europe and China. Our number one export these days is fuel (note I said fuel not oil we still have to import and will always have to) and this will enable easier exporting of said tar sands oil.
The internet is a wonderful thing. No other time in history could so many people find out the facts of each issue and cause such uproar with their representatives to block that which is not in their best interest. The facts of this pipeline are harmful to everyone involved except for the big oil executives. The US does not want this oil transported through their states to be shipped out overseas. Canada does not want this oil, and are blocking a pipeline from reaching the Pacific. Perhaps this is the true start of a mass realization that the only path to energy security is in renewables, which are already advanced and cheap enough (cheaper than oil if oil was not so subsidized on our money) to take care of nearly all residential and small-to-medium business needs.
Energy security depends on “Renewables”, You people must be on crack!!
The oil is going to Port Arthur because that is where Refineries are that can handle the low API Gravity oil and turn it into “Products” so you “Renewable” folks can get equipment built. Without Oil, there is no plastic, so good luck with listening to NPR on your iPhone since those oil resources are needed to make your iPhone as well as your car, house, and most other products used by “Green” leaning people. Bunch of hypocrites. You want your cake, but don’t want the ingredients to make the cake. You can’t have no oil and live like you do-without oil, you will live in the mid 1800′s.
Exactly why is Keystone so bad? Pipelines cross all over the entire USA-some across Everglades National Park-where were you “Green” folks when pipelines were laid all over? Why not start demanding that all pipelines be idled or removed? Do you know how many pipelines are crossing your own property?
Why are you “suddenly” so concerned about ONE pipeline when tens of thousands of pipelines exist and many cross environmental sensitive areas-did you not know that? Have you checked your own title to your land and seen all the easements affecting it? Powerlines emit electrical fields-better put on your Tin Hat to protect yourselves!! BTW, most pipeline accidents occur because some idiot digs into it and causes a rupture.
Reidthis…Well stated brother!!