The Senate approved the House bill extending the payroll tax. It’s only a two month extension, so we’ll be right back here again in almost no time. The provision requiring the federal government to speed up the approval process on the Keystone XL pipeline was left in the bill, which should be a good thing. But it doesn’t stop President Obama from simply killing the project.
Republicans hailed inclusion of the pipeline provision as a victory, but Democrats said the practical effect of the language would be to kill the project.
“They’ve just killed the Keystone pipeline. They killed it because they forced the president to make a decision before he can make it so he’s not going to move forward with it,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and an ally of environmental groups.
Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said he was not concerned about giving in to Republicans on the Keystone provision.
“The president is apparently just going to use the option given to him not to let it go [forward],” said Levin. “There’s a waiver in there which we understand the president is going to exercise.”
Well, it looks like the ball is in his court.
Update: Scared Monkeys linked – thanks!
Update 2: Apparently, the Senate did not approve the House bill. They approved their own version, and now the GOP leadership in the House is balking. I’ll have more in a separate post on Monday.
The GOP has essentially put Obama on the spot to stop voting “present” as he says “hey, it is the State Department’s doing” and force him to stand up for job creation and domestic energy security, or say “no” and kill those jobs and further reduce America’s energy security and needs.
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The president is using Keystone as a pawn to be played as a reelection promise. The state department works at the pleasure of the president.
If Obama gives in on Keystone now, he can’t play that card on election day. He will not be able to say, “if elected, I will move heaven and earth to get Keystone approved!”
Obama is desperate for votes and plans to manipulate every thing he can to get votes!
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[...] with regards to the Keystone XL pipeline? Obama claims that he is for job creation, we shall see. The ball is in Obama’s court, so-to speak. How does Obama justify killing 20,000 jobs when he claims to be pro-job creation? [...]
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The same is true of the light bulb fiasco. By the way, “W” have we thanked you for signing that gem into law? Don’t hold your breath.
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I think that was a given all along- it just forces Obama’s hand before the election instead of having him punt the decision until after 2012.
Instead of voting ‘present’ he’ll have to incur the wrath of the shrill greenies or the rest of America who wouldn’t mind either the relative energy independnece oil from a politically stable and geographically close allied nation like Canada would bring or the jobs this is projected to bring (as well as drilling in the Bakken)
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Yes! Kill Keystone (and with it the Obama re-election campaign) only to have president Romney, Gingrich or Perry reinstate the project not even a year later!
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