President Issues Keystone Veto; Republicans Vow To Fight On

Feb. 24, 2015, 5:58 a.m. ·

President Barack Obama has vetoed a Republican bill forcing construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

The White House sent notice of the veto to the Senate on Tuesday, shortly after the bill was received at the White House. It's the third veto of Obama's presidency.

The move puts a freeze on a top GOP priority, at least for now. It also reasserts Obama's authority over a project that's become a flashpoint in the national debate about climate change.

House Speaker John Boehner says Republicans are "not even close" to giving up the fight over the Keystone pipeline. And he says President Barack Obama's veto today of a bill that would approve construction of the pipeline is a "national embarrassment."

Obama is offering no indication of whether he will eventually issue a permit for the pipeline. It's become a flashpoint in the U.S. debate over environmental policy and climate change.

The veto sends the issue back to Congress, where Republicans haven't shown they can muster the two-thirds majority in both chambers needed to override it.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the Senate will start the process to try to override Obama's veto by next week. Republicans are also considering inserting Keystone into other critical legislation dealing with energy, spending or infrastructure that Obama would be less likely to veto.

The pipeline would connect Canada's tar sands with refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast that specialize in processing heavy crude oil. It needs a permit because it would cross an international boundary.