Senate Republicans will soon unveil legislation to approve the Keystone pipeline, Sen. Dick Lugar’s (R-IN) office said Monday. The bill, to be introduced by Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND), David Vitter (R-LA) and Lugar, has the backing of 44 senators, including Democrat Joe Manchin (WV).
The legislation will authorize TransCanada to build the Canada-to-Texas pipeline that President Obama recently rejected on the grounds that last month’s legislation to expedite a decision did not allow for enough time to assess the environmental and health impacts of the project.
It’s another sign that Republicans see the pipeline as a winning issue for them in this election year and intend to try and use Congress’s authority to sign off on the project.