Legislation calling for approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline Project is expected to be voted on today by the U.S. Senate Energy Committee. North Dakota Senator John Hoeven is one of the bill’s co-sponsors. BOLD Nebraska’s Energy Director Ben Gotschall says this isn’t the first time federal lawmakers have brought up the issue and he doesn’t expect it to gain any real traction.
The legislation up before the committee recognizes the U.S. State Department’s first environmental impact statement released in January that concluded construction of Keystone XL would have no significant effect on the environment. Gotschall disagrees and says the environmental impact statement and highlights potential environmental problems with the pipeline.
Hoeven needs 60 votes to get the measure passed in the full Senate and claims to have 45 Republican Senators on board. Recently 11 Democrat Senators have also indicated support for the measure.