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Thursday, January 19, 2012

House Proposal Would Bypass Obama On Keystone Pipeline

By Susan Duclos

I added a link to this on the previous piece showing Democratic lawmaker's statements criticizing Barack Obama on his politically calculated rejection of the Keystone pipeline, but it deserves it's own space.

Via Heritage:

In the wake of President Obama’s decision to shut down the Keystone XL pipeline on Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee has scheduled a hearing to review legislation that would restart the project, and give oversight responsibility to an agency the bill’s proponents say is less politically motivated than the White House.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be invited to testify at the hearing, scheduled for Jan. 25, to discuss her department’s environmental review procedures.

The hearing will focus on a bill introduced by Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE), which would allow construction on the pipeline to begin a month after passage. The legislation would shift responsibility for approving the project from the White House to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Under the bill, FERC would have 30 days to approve the Keystone route examined in State’s “Final Environmental Impact Statement,” which found no significant environmental risk associated with the project. Construction would begin immediately after FERC approval. Nebraska, which has expressed concerns over the route of the pipeline, could then craft its own route, seek approval from its own environmental regulatory body, and submit it to FERC for approval, which would have 30 days to approve that route.



Since Obama thinks it is fine and dandy to bypass Congress on a regular basis, let us see how he likes it when Congress decides to bypass him.

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