WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has endorsed construction of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline that is to carry oil from Canada to Texas oil refineries.
Senators voted 62-37 on Friday for the nonbinding measure. Seventeen Democrats and all 45 Republicans voted yes.
For four years, environmentalists and others have tried to derail the project, saying extracting the oil from Alberta tar sands would increase global warming. President Barack Obama has thwarted it twice, and Nebraska officials objected initially that the route would jeopardize ecologically sensitive lands.
But the Nebraska route has been changed, and project supporters have won more backing by arguing it would create thousands of jobs. A recent State Department report raised no major objections to the project.
North Dakota Republican Sen. John Hoeven sponsored the measure.
Read ongoing FuelFix coverage of the battle over the Keystone XL pipeline:
- Billionaire targets Senate candidate over Keystone XL (March 18)
- As odds grow long, critics move to stop Keystone XL (March 18)
- Unions split on plans for Keystone XL pipeline (March 18)
- Obama: Keystone XL pipeline not major jobs creator (March 14)
- Republican budget plan would force Keystone XL approval (March 12)
