Heitkamp Hoeven vote for pipeline bill

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota’s U.S. Senate delegation has voted to approve a bipartisan bill to construct the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
 
     Republican Sen. John Hoeven and Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp were two of the 62 senators who voted in favor of sending the bill to President Barack Obama’s desk. The president has said he will veto any Keystone legislation that comes to him.
 
     The pipeline proposed by TransCanada Corp. would transport Canadian oil through Montana and South Dakota to Nebraska, where it would connect with existing pipelines to carry the oil to refineries along the Gulf Coast.
 
    

Sen. Hedi Heitkamp (D) North Dakota

Heitkamp said Thursday that Congress needs to support projects that are in the “best interest of our energy, economic and national security.”
 
     Hoeven said the president needs to work with Congress to build a comprehensive energy plan.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Republican-controlled Senate has passed a bipartisan bill approving construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
 
     The 62-36 vote on Thursday advanced a top priority of the newly empowered GOP, which championed the legislation despite a presidential veto threat. Keystone is the first of many battles with the White House over energy and the environment.
 
     The measure fell short of the threshold needed to override a veto. It also needs to be reconciled with the House version. 
 
     The bill authorizes construction of the nearly 1,200-mile pipeline to carry oil primarily from Canada’s tar sands to Gulf Coast refineries.
 
     Critics argue the $8 billion project would spell disaster for global warming. Supporters call it a jobs bill that would boost energy security.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – As Congress presses the Obama administration to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, government records show oil pipeline accidents have become increasingly frequent in the U.S.
 
     An Associated Press review shows accident numbers growing steadily since 2009, reversing a decade-long decline.
 
     Keystone would go from Canada to the Gulf, passing near where 30,000 gallons of crude spilled into Montana’s Yellowstone River earlier this month.
 
     The recent breach became the latest in a string of spills to highlight ongoing problems with maintenance of the nation’s crude pipeline network.
 
     After the U.S. Senate voted Thursday in favor of Keystone, Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington state cited the increase in spills in calling for Obama to veto the measure.
 
     Keystone supporter North Dakota Democrat Sen. Heidi Heitkamp said building it was preferable to using older pipelines.