The debate over the long-proposed construction of the Keystone XL pipeline seemed to conclude in early March, when a U.S. Senate vote fell five votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to override President Barack Obama's veto. In Oregon, the votes went along party lines.
The proposed 1,179-mile pipeline could've moved up to 830,000 barrels of oil a day from Canada to Nebraska. Legislation for the structure had been defeated in November 2014, but a new Republican Congress approved it in January, only to have it vetoed by Obama. The 62-37 vote to override the veto fell five votes short of the 67 votes needed to resurrect the project.
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Oregon Democrats Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden supported the veto and voted against the pipeline in November, arguing that it would further damage the already fragile environment.
When it became clear that the new Republican-led Congress would pass the measure as one of their first acts, Merkley called for a presidential veto.
"The Keystone XL Pipeline would accelerate climate change and put the environment at risk,"
Merkley said in a statement on his website, before the re-vote. "We need to stand together and stop it before we’re too late. ... Climate change is already harming the farms, forests and other natural resources our economy depends on, and this project will only make climate change worse."
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Wyden has voted against every Keystone XL pipeline bill brought before the Senate. "Building the Keystone XL pipeline isn't about lowering gas prices in Oregon — it's about padding the profits of foreign oil companies," read a newsletter issued on Wyden's website.
Originally put forth in 2005, the Keystone XL has epitomized the conflict between oil companies and environmentalists that is at the root of the highly political debate.
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