Congress passed a bill to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline, setting up the first veto since 2010 and only the third in the Obama presidency.
Keystone — the first priority of the new Republican Congress — has become one of the highest-profile environmental debates in the country and could pose problems for some Democratic candidates in the 2016 presidential cycle. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for example, has declined to take a position until her former agency completes its review of the $8 billion pipeline.
Republican glee was evident even before the House passed the bill 270-152. Neither the House nor the Senate has enough votes to overcome a potential veto.
“Instead of listening to the people, the President is standing with a bunch of left-fringe extremists and anarchists,” said House Speaker John Boehner in a press conference before reporters. “The President needs to listen to the American people and say, ‘Yes, let’s build the Keystone pipeline!’”
10 Vetoes That Shaped Recent Political History
Universal Child Care, Nixon, 1971 America came close to a system of universal, federally financed day care. But after the Comprehensive Child Development Act passed Congress on a bipartisan vote in 1971, President Nixon vetoed it, arguing it would weaken families with "communal approaches to child rearing." The idea then faded from American politics. (Photo: University of Denver nursery, Oct. 13, 1971.) John Preito—Denver Post/Getty ImagesFreedom of Information Act, Ford, 1974 President Ford vetoed the Freedom of Information Act, which would make many classified records public, out of concern that it would endanger national security. But with the memory of the Watergate scandal still fresh, Congress voted overwhelmingly to override the veto. (Photo: Donald Rumsfeld and President Ford on Marine One in 1974.) David Hume Kennerly—Getty ImagesApartheid Sanctions, Reagan, 1986 President Reagan vetoed a bill that would have imposed sanctions on the pro-apartheid South African government, calling it "economic warfare." But Congress overrode him and imposed the sanctions anyway, and Reagan's chief of staff later said the president regretted his veto. (Photo: People protesting the Apartheid government at Kwanobuhle stadium in South Africa.) William F. Campbell—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesClean Water Act, Reagan, 1986 President Reagan pocket-vetoed the Clean Water Act of 1986 over concerns about its cost, despite the $20 billion bill passing both houses of Congress unanimously. The bill would have provided funding to clean up the nation's bodies of water over the next eight years. (Photo: A sewage plant in the Hudson River t in New York City, 1978.)Ted Spiegel—National Geographic/Getty ImagesCivil Rights Act of 1990, Bush, Sr. After the Supreme Court limited the ability of workers to sue for employment discrimination, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1990 to strengthen those laws. President George H.W. Bush vetoed the bill, arguing it would lead to "quotas" then signed a less expansive version of the bill the following year. (Photo: Jesse Jackson and other civil rights figures lead marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the recreation of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march in Selma, Ala. on March 4, 1990.) Jamie Sturtevant—APPartial-birth Abortion, Clinton, 1996 President Clinton drew the ire of religious and anti-abortion groups in 1996 when he vetoed the "partial-birth abortion bill"’ which outlawed certain abortion procedures even when they would save the life of the mother. Clinton called the measure "potentially life-saving, certainly health-saving." The bill was later signed into law by President George W. Bush. (Photo: Anti-abortion supporters in Washington on Jan. 22,1997.)Denis Paquin—APEstate Tax, Clinton, 1999 When President Clinton vetoed a $792 billion tax cut in 1999, Congressional Republicans began trying to pass it piece-by-piece the following year. But Clinton vetoed those too, including their repeal of the federal estate tax. Clinton said repealing the estate tax was “wrong on the grounds of fairness and it is wrong on the grounds of fiscal priorities.”Shawn Thew—AFP/Getty ImagesStem Cell Research, Bush, 2006 President Bush used his first veto on an emotional and divisive issue, even within political parties: stem cell research. In 2006 Congress passed a bill that would lift funding restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research, but Bush said the measure “would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope of finding medical benefits for others.” (Photo: Bush announces his veto in a room with mothers and babies born from frozen embryos). MCT/Getty ImagesIraq Withdrawal, Bush, 2007 President George W. Bush vetoed a war-spending bill in 2007 that called for the withdrawal of all military troops by the following year. “It makes no sense to tell the enemy when you plan to start withdrawing,” the president said. U.S. troops left Iraq in 2011 under President Obama. (Photo: Soldiers return to Combat Outpost Casino after a mission in the Gazaliyah neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq on Feb. 16, 2007.)Chris Hondros—Getty ImagesInterstate Recognition of Notarizations, Obama, 2010 President Obama used his first veto on a relatively unglamorous bill: the Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act of 2010. The bill aimed to promote interstate commerce by requiring states to accept notarizations from any state. Obama vetoed the bill because he worried it would facilitate foreclosure fraud.Olivier Douliery—Pool/Getty Images
House majority leader Kevin McCarthy then came to the lectern after the cries of “hear, hear” died down. “I’ll pause for a moment so you can keep writing that down,” he joked.
The pipeline would help link up to 830,000 Alberta barrels a day down to Gulf Coast oil refineries. With oil prices near $50 a barrel, however, the 1,179-mile pipeline will likely have less of an impact on both the environment and economy by lowering the chance that it will be completely utilized. The State Department reported last year that the pipeline would indirectly and directly support around 42,000 jobs over two years, but would only employ around 50 people once the pipeline was functional.
But the pipeline is popular — polls show that nearly 60% of Americans agree with the GOP’s position on TransCanada’s six-year project — and Republicans will continue to use it to drive divisions between Democrats.
“Once the President vetoes Keystone, Republican 2016 hopefuls can begin to use it as a clear example of Washington gridlock and obstruction at its best and start the conversation that the White House is truly the problem blocking progress,” says Ron Bonjean, a GOP consultant. “The move allows Republicans to show they would take swift action on this and then compare Hillary Clinton’s waffling on the issue as an example of more posturing rather than getting something positive done.”
