President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks to reporters in the White House briefing room in Washington, Friday, March 1, 2013, following a meeting with congressional leaders regarding the automatic spending cuts. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Senate endorses Keystone XL pipeline construction
Published: 10:42:20 PM, Fri 22 March 2013 UTC
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has endorsed construction of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline that is to carry oil from Canada to Texas oil refineries.
Senators voted 62-37 on Friday for the nonbinding measure. Seventeen Democrats and all 45 Republicans voted yes.
For four years, environmentalists and others have tried to derail the project, saying extracting the oil from Alberta tar sands would increase global warming. President Barack Obama has thwarted it twice, and Nebraska officials objected initially that the route would jeopardize ecologically sensitive lands.
But the Nebraska route has been changed, and project supporters have won more backing by arguing it would create thousands of jobs. A recent State Department report raised no major objections to the project.
North Dakota Republican Sen. John Hoeven sponsored the measure.
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