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US President Barack Obama has confirmed he’d veto the Keystone XL pipeline should Congress look to pass a bill approving construction of the project this Friday.
The White House has confirmed that President Barack Obama would veto legislation approving the construction of the long-delayed and controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline.
The pipeline, which would stretch from Canada down into the United States, has been on hold as senators backing the project failed to win approval for construction in late 2014. The new Republican-led Congress is set to vote on the project this Friday.
In the press pool, Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said the president is just doing what he said he would last time the bill was going to be proposed.
“You’ll recall we put out statement saying we would have vetoed had that bill passed previous congress. I can confirm if this Bill passes this congress, the president wouldn’t sign it either,” he told reporters.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has confirmed the project would be one of the first issues the new Congress would vote on as the Republicans look to increase the United States’ control of energy sources.
On Monday, TransCanada’s (TSX:TRP,NYSE:TRP) president came out praising McConnell’s announcement.
“Today’s announcement represents not only a political coalition, but also the strong will of two-thirds of Americans, who have consistently expressed support for Keystone XL in a series of 29 public opinion polls over the past three years,” Russ Girling, the company’s president and CEO, said in a statement.
The project has faced problems ever since its announcement, with recent lawsuits surrounding Nebraska’s pipeline routing laws under review by the Nebraska Supreme Court. Nebraska landowners successfully sued to have the pipeline routing law struck down after it was approved by the governor.
Securities Disclosure: I, Nick Wells, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.