keystone pipeline bill, U.S. Senate

The U.S. Senate rejected the keystone pipeline bill, and this bill lost by a single vote. The attempt to pass the bill was a bipartisan effort, with both Democrats and Republicans on board. The keystone pipeline bill required 60 votes to pass the U.S. Senate and move on to the White House, and the final vote tally was 59 for the bill to 41 against. The bill was killed for now, but that could change quickly on January 1, 2015 when a new Congress takes office and the Republicans will have a majority in both houses. It may become much easier to pass this bill, which has been stalled for a considerable time due to Democratic opposition in Congress. In a surprise move, which many attribute to a very close run off race against a Republican later this year, Democrat Mary Landrieu was the one who finally brought the bill to the floor to be voted on.

The rejection of the keystone pipeline bill by the U.S. Senate is believed to be a minor setback, and most Americans and Canadians believe that this project will eventually be approved. The fact that the U.S. Senate still has a Democrat majority and the bill only failed to pass by one small vote shows that the tide has finally turned. In the past environmentalists were dead set against the pipeline due to fears about harm to the environment and that helped to stall the bill without being voted on. The keystone pipeline bill vote itself was a big step forward and it shows that progress is being made even if it is happening at a snail’s pace.