DEMS BLOCK KEYSTONE WITH FILIBUSTER

Senate rejects GOP measure to build oil pipeline
Ted Barrett, Dana Bash and Alan Silverleib, March 8, 2012 (CNN)

"The Senate narrowly rejected a Republican-sponsored measure Thursday that would have bypassed the Obama administration's current objections to the Keystone XL pipeline and allowed construction on the controversial project to move forward immediately…Fifty-six senators voted in favor of the amendment -- four short of the 60 required for approval. Eleven Democrats joined a unanimous Republican caucus in backing the plan.

"The proposed 1,700-mile long pipeline expansion, intended to carry crude oil from Canada's oil sands to the U.S. Gulf Coast, has become a political lightning rod. Supporters, including the oil industry, say it's a vital job creator that will lessen the country's dependence on oil imported from volatile regions."

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"Opponents say the pipeline may leak, and that it will lock the United States into a particularly dirty form of crude that might ultimately end up being exported anyway. The measure has sharply divided key Democratic constituencies. Labor unions largely back the plan while environmentalists oppose it…President Barack Obama rejected…the pipeline, arguing that a decision deadline imposed by Congress did not leave sufficient time to conduct necessary reviews…

"…Administration officials have said the president may still eventually give the project a green light, though critics accuse him of trying to delay a final decision until after the November election…Obama personally lobbied wavering Democrats to block passage…Republicans blasted the president for twisting [arms]…Democratic opposition to the Republican measure was complicated by reports last week that former President Bill Clinton came out in favor of building the pipeline."