Obama Battles Congressional Republicans; Threatens To Veto Keystone Pipeline XL Approval [PHOTO]

This past Tuesday, the White House issued a statement that said President Obama would veto a bill that would allow for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. According to the Washington Post, the White House's announcement came as the Republican-controlled Congress was being sworn in.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest stated, "If this bill passes this Congress, the president wouldn't sign it," assuring the public of Obama's decision. In the past, Obama has said he does not approve of TransCanada Corp. 's proposed pipeline, which would send up to 830,000 barrels of oil a day from Canada's oil sands to refineries on the Gulf Coast.

While supporters of the pipeline think its construction will create jobs and provide a source of reliable energy, opponents argue that it will extract oil from dirty tar sands in Canada and do little to help the U.S. economy.

Environmentalists stand with Obama's decision to veto the procedure, and so do many Democrats and Independents. The Washington Post reports that Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) applauds Obama "for standing up to Republicans trying to ram through Congress a bill to let a Canadian oil company ship some of the dirtiest oil on the planet across the United States on its way to overseas markets."

However, congressional Republicans see it differently. New Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) stated, "The president threatening to veto the first bipartisan infrastructure bill of the new Congress must come as a shock to the American people who spoke loudly in November in favor of bipartisan accomplishments," conveying his disapproval of the veto threat.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Obama administration has been reviewing the pipeline decision for more than six years and has stated it will not make a decision until litigation in Nebraska involving the project's route is resolved.

The House is expected to vote Friday to approve the pipeline, and a Senate vote is expected to follow on Tuesday.

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