Congress clears Keystone XL pipeline bill, setting up veto

WASHINGTON -- The Republican-controlled Congress approved a bill Wednesday to construct the Keystone XL oil pipeline, setting up a confrontation with President Barack Obama, who has threatened to veto the measure.

The House voted 270-152 to send the bill to the president, endorsing changes made by the Senate that stated climate change was real and not a hoax, and oil sands should no longer be exempt from a tax used to clean up oil spills. Only one Republican voted against the measure.

But neither chamber has enough support to overcome a veto, and supporters were strategizing on how to secure the pipeline's approval using other legislative means.

"The evidence is in. The case ought to be closed," said Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

For Republicans, the bill's passage capped weeks of debate on a priority after they took control of Congress last month. Hours before the vote, they prodded Democrats who did not take their side.

Democrats called the effort a waste of time but said the provisions on global warming and oil spills marked progress for Republicans.

Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., said the bill was another example of Republicans prioritizing legislation to demonstrate a message, regardless of its chances of becoming law. The vote Wednesday marked the 11th attempt by Republicans to advance the pipeline.

"The last few years have been like a hamster on a wheel -- spinning and spinning and not getting anywhere," said Hastings, who at one point held up a toy that looked like the rodent.

First proposed in 2008, the pipeline has come to symbolize the differences between the parties on energy and environmental matters, and it is likely to be the first of many skirmishes with the White House.

Republicans and the oil industry have argued the $8 billion infrastructure project is about jobs and boosting energy security, by importing oil from a friendly neighbor and shipping it to domestic refineries subject to stringent environmental regulations. Democrats, and their environmental allies, have characterized it as a gift to the oil industry that would worsen global warming and subject parts of the country to the risks of an oil spill.