With the new Republican-controlled Congress opening up this week in which a new slate of recently-elected join the historic majority, the House has an aggressive agenda already set in motion to challenge President Obama.
On Friday House leaders will bring to the floor for a vote a bill to give the go-head for building Keystone XL pipeline between Canada and the U.S., reports Newsmax. The bill had been routinely blocked by Senate Democrats as late as two weeks after the midterm elections.
House author Rep. Kevin Cramer pitched the bill on Tuesday:
“By passing this bill in the House and Senate with bipartisan votes, we can help provide the political muscle the president needs to finally approve this piece of critical transportation infrastructure.”
President Obama has already threatened a veto of the legislation in a play to assuage his supporters among the environmental lobby who claim that so-called ‘dirty oil’ extracted from Canadian tar sands produces more greenhouse gases.
But Republicans expect that passing the bill will be a win for the party regardless whether Obama vetoes or signs the legislation. In the face of a veto, Republicans could rally to attempt a congressional override, which earns credibility with voters as the pro-jobs party in the coming 2016 cycle.
Should Obama choose ultimately to sign the bill, supporters predict that the construction and resultant development will create thousands of new jobs up and down the pipeline’s corridor to the Gulf of Mexico.
