The controversial bill to build the Keystone XL pipeline in the United States has been hotly debated in recent years. The legislation received a serious blow in March, when a Senate vote to override President Barack Obama's veto on the issue fell five votes short.
The proposed 1,179-mile pipeline failed to pass by one vote in November 2014, but the new Republican Congress pushed the measure through in January, sending it to the Obama's desk.
Obama issued a veto, and accused Congress of trying to "circumvent longstanding and proven processes for determining whether or not building and operating a cross-border pipeline serves the national interest."
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The final vote to override the veto went 62-37; five votes shy of the required two-thirds majority that would have restarted the plan.
In Rhode Island, a state known for its advocacy on environmental issues, support remained firmly along party lines. Democrats Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse voted against overturning the veto, and thus against the pipeline, arguing that it would accelerate the harmful effects of climate change.
Reed voted nay on the pipeline in the November and January tallies, as well as in favor of upholding Obama's veto.
After voting against the pipeline in January,
Whitehouse said in a statement: "I'm glad the President will veto this bill because the Keystone XL pipeline would be a disaster for our health and environment — enabling expanded development of one of the dirtiest fuels on the planet and exacerbating climate change. I hope we can now put this debate behind us and move on to more serious legislative efforts to address the major issues facing our country."
When the attempt to override Obama's veto failed, Whitehouse took issue with North Dakota Senator and bill author John Hoeven, who vowed to "win the war" by attaching the pipeline to another piece of legislation, such as a long-term transportation funding bill.
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"If Sen. Hoeven wants to play more hostage politics with the Keystone pipeline that simply revives the two big failures of their disastrous first two months,"
Whitehouse told The Hill. "If they want to go that way, the politician in me says, 'please.'"
The Keystone XL has illuminated the fight between oil companies and environmentalists that sits at the center of the debate. Obama said he won't approve the pipeline if it raises greenhouse gas emissions. The pipeline could transport up to 830,000 barrels of oil a day from Hardisty, Alberta, through Montana and South Dakota to Steele City, Nebraska.
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