The Prez says 'no' to Keystone

Obama Will Veto Keystone XL Legislation, White House Says

MARILYN GEEWAX
KRISHNADEV CALAMUR
NPR, JANUARY 06, 2015, Updated at 5:46 p.m.

The White House says President Obama will veto any congressional legislation that approves the Keystone XL pipeline.

"If this bill passes this Congress, the president wouldn't sign it," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

The House, which has a Republican majority, is expected to vote on a Keystone bill this week. The GOP-dominated Senate is considering a similar measure, which has bipartisan support.

The pipeline, which would move crude from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf of Mexico, has been at the center of a long and contentious debate involving politicians, energy companies and environmentalists, as NPR's Scott Horsley and Jeff Brady reported last November.

Supporters of the pipeline say it will create 42,000 jobs, but opponents cite environmental concerns and are skeptical about how many jobs the project can actually create — with one estimate noting that it would create just 35 permanent jobs.

(More here.)