Democrat-led Senate Votes Down Keystone XL Pipeline
The Democrat-led Senate voted Tuesday evening 59 to 41 to reject the Keystone XL pipeline meant to run through North America.
Only 14 Democrats in the Senate voted for approval of the pipeline, while the measure that would deliver oil-sands was approved by all 45 Republican senators in the house last week. Although all Republicans and some moderate Democrats did voice their support for the bill, it ultimately failed to get the 60 Senate votes needed to make it to the White House.
Media outlets report that the failure of the Keystone bill saves a difficult decision for President Barack Obama. Although the Commander-in-Chief has expressed personal disapproval for the bill, the White House did not confirm if the bill would be vetoed once it hit the president's desk.
One Democratic senator reeling from Tuesday's vote is Sen. Mary Landrieu, who was pushing her fellow Democrats to pass the bill in a last-ditch effort to gain momentum ahead of the Dec. 6 runoff election in her home state of Louisiana that may unseat her from Senate.
Despite the vote's rejection, Landrieu released a statement following the Senate's decision that said "there is no blame, there is only joy in the fight."
"Where I come from, we just never talk about quitting. And we dont talk about whining."
Some of the Republican senators who voted on the bill thought President Obama should decide on the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline. "I say to President Obama, time is up, and the excuses have run out. It is time for you, Mr. President, to make a decision," Sen. John Barrasso, a Republican from Wyoming, said during a floor debate this week.
