By M. Bilal Kenasari
WASHINTON
The U.S. Senate Energy Committee on Thursday passed a bill to approve an oil pipeline project, despite veto threats from the White House.
The committee voted 13-9 to authorize the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline that will send oil from the Canadian tar sands to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries. The bill now heads to the Republican-controlled Senate for a vote as early as next week.
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and a sponsor of the bill, was the only Democratic to vote in support of the pipeline.
Committee chair, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, said lawmakers should not be deterred by President Barack Obama’s veto threat while adding that late last year the bill fell one vote short of passing the Senate.
Proponents of the controversial pipeline argue that the construction project would create jobs while opponents counter that the environmental impact of such a project would not outweigh the benefits.
A vote in the House of Representatives on its version of the bill is scheduled for Friday and expected to pass.
