WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US Congress will continue the discussion of the Keystone XL pipeline project despite US President Barack Obama’s decision to veto the Approval Act, according to the statements, released by press offices of several US Congressmen.
“Even though the President [Obama] has yielded to powerful special interests, this veto doesn’t end the debate. Americans should know that the new Congress won’t stop pursuing good ideas, including this one,” US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Ed Royce stressed that President Obama should have listened to the US State Department, which determined that the pipeline's construction and operation is environmentally safe.
“With the State Department's long-delayed 'national interest determination' review still ongoing, Secretary of State John Kerry has the authority to approve this jobs-creating energy project, which is exactly what he should do," Royce said.
The White House announced in a statement on Tuesday that President Obama sent a letter to the US Senate vetoing the Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act from moving forward, because the legislation “cuts short thorough consideration of issues that could bear on our national interest — including our security, safety, and environment.”
The Keystone XL pipeline could connect Alberta, Canada and the US Gulf Coast. The pipeline would bring an additional 830,000 barrels of oil per day to US refineries, according to the congressional Energy and Commerce Committee estimates.
