Senate Republicans Wednesday failed to override President Barack Obama’s veto of a Keystone XL pipeline bill, unable to garner the 67 votes required to overturn the president’s action.
The vote was 62-37. Eight Democrats joined Republicans in supporting an override: Sens. Tom Carper of Delaware, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Jon Tester of Montana, John Warner of Virginia, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Michael Bennet of Colorado, and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota.
Last month, Obama vetoed the bill approving the 1,179-mile pipeline that would ship crude oil from Western Canadian oil sands to the Texas Gulf Coast. Obama said he blocked the measure because it forced the approval of the pipeline before the State Department could complete a review on whether the project was in the national interest.
The failure to overturn Obama’s action was expected. But that didn’t stop Republican and Democratic supporters of the pipeline to push hard for Democratic votes Wednesday.
‘Vote with us to override a partisan veto and help the president pursue priorities he’s advocated in the past,’ Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., implored. Your vote for common sense can release this little special interest stranglehold. It can return a little more sanity to Washington…’
But McConnell’s plea wasn’t enough to sway more Democrats.
‘The bill as written would have allowed the oil delivered via the pipeline to be sold to foreign countries – I oppose that,’ said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.
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