DEMOCRATS BREAK RANKS
Eight Democratic senators joined Republicans in the attempt to overturn President Barack Obama’s veto of the Keystone XL pipeline bill:
• Michael Bennet, Colorado
• Tom Carper, Delaware
• Bob Casey, Pennsylvania
• Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota
• Joe Manchin, West Virginia
• Claire McCaskill, Missouri
• Jon Tester, Montana
• Mark Warner, Virginia
The Senate on Wednesday failed to override President Barack Obama’s veto of a bill to construct the Keystone XL pipeline, the first of many expected veto confrontations between the Republican-controlled Congress and the White House this year.
Already, the White House has issued more than a dozen veto threats on legislation.
Proponents of the Keystone bill have said since its introduction that they didn’t have the two-thirds of the Senate vote needed to override Obama’s veto. At 62-37, they fell four votes short. But they’ve already been discussing other ways to force the pipeline’s approval, either by attaching it onto must-pass spending bills or other, broader, energy legislation.
“If we don’t win the battle today, we will win the war because we will find another bill to attach this pipeline to,” said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., the chief sponsor of the bill, before the vote.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pleaded with Democrats for more support of a bill that he said advanced the president’s own priorities.
“If you’re interested in jobs and infrastructure and saving your party from an extreme mistake, then join us,” he said. “Vote with us to override a partisan veto and help the president pursue priorities he’s advocated in the past.”
Two Democrats, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, said at a news conference after the vote that further attempts to pass the project would be futile, especially given the recently failed attempt to overturn Obama’s immigration policies using a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
“The Republican pipe dream to pass this pipeline through Congress is over,” Markey said. “The Senate today said the president should get to keep his prerogative.”
Obama has repeatedly resisted Congress’ attempts to force his hand. A message accompanying his veto of the bill, the third of his presidency, said it circumvented longstanding and proven processes for determining whether cross-border pipelines serve the national interest and cuts short consideration of its effects.
About the Author
