37 Republican Senators Push for Pipeline with Bill (ContributorNetwork)

Thirty-seven Senate Republicans signed onto a bill on Wednesday, Nov. 30, that would require the Obama Administration to issue a permit within 60 days of its passage allowing the Keystone XL project to move forward. But, according to an article published by Reuters, the bill will be difficult to pass in a Democratic-controlled Senate.

Here's a look at some of the pertinent details surrounding the bill and the project:

* TransCanada's Keystone XL project is an approximately 1,661 mile, 36-inch crude oil pipeline that would connect oil from the Hardisty, Alberta area to refineries in the Nederland, Texas region. The pipeline would also pass through Saskatchewan, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. On Nov. 10, the Obama Administration announced that the project - for which end-of-the-year approval was anticipated - would be delayed until 2013.

* According to Sen. Dick Lugar (Indiana), the North American Energy Security Act, also known as the Keystone Bill, contains environmental protections, guards states' rights and protects Nebraska's ability to move the route around the Sand Hills without delaying construction elsewhere. Lugar says that the Keystone XL project will create 20,000 jobs and accuses President Obama of delaying the decision until after the 2012 election to avoid offending part of his political base. The bill would give Obama the option, if not approving the permits for the pipeline within 60 days, to publicly explain his decision as to why the project is not in the nation's best interest.

* Sen. Jerry Moran (Kansas), another of the Keystone bill's sponsors, stated the project will provide 700,000 new barrels of oil a day to the United States. Kansas will be hard-hit by the project's delay because municipal utilities across the state have already invested electrical infrastructure to supply power to the pumping stations along the length of the pipeline, Moran said.

* During a Nov. 30 daily press briefing, State Department deputy spokesperson, Mark Toner, reiterated that the Department continues to work closely and consult closely with Congress in conducting the study and assessment of the project.

* According to the Oil & Gas Journal, the U.S. House passed a bill of its own in July, H.R. 1938, requiring that the Obama administration decide on the permit by November 1 of this year. A White House statement on July 25 expressed the Administration's opposition to the bill, stating that it limits the discretion of the Department of State in its role of overseeing the issuance of permits for border-crossing facilities. Additionally, the bill would conflict with Executive branch authority and could prevent thorough consideration of complex issues "which could have serious security, safety, environmental, and other ramifications." The Senate later refused to move the House-passed 1938 forward.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111201/pl_ac/10569613_37_republican_senators_push_for_pipeline_with_bill

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