|
 |
 |
|
GOP Sen. Inhofe opposes linking Keystone, transportation package
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) is pushing back against House GOP plans to tether approval of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline to major transportation and infrastructure legislation.
Inhofe, who backs the pipeline, is the top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee and GOP co-author of the Senate’s big transportation programs bill.
“My preference is, since I have strong feelings about the Keystone, put it on something that is a must-pass bill,” Inhofe told reporters in the Capitol Tuesday.
“But to put it on an infrastructure bill that is not a must-pass bill — it is one that we want to pass, but I would hate to lose it because we are putting other things on it,” added Inhofe.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Sunday that legislation to advance the pipeline would be part of the House transportation plan if it is not already enacted before it comes to a vote.
Inhofe is a strong supporter of the proposed pipeline to bring oil sands crude from Alberta, Canada, to Gulf Coast refineries, and a co-sponsor of new Senate legislation unveiled Monday that’s aimed at forcing approval of the controversial pipeline.
Republicans are also weighing efforts to try and attach Keystone provisions to the yearlong extension of the payroll tax cut that lawmakers are negotiating.
President Obama rejected a permit for TransCanada Corp.’s proposed pipeline earlier this month, but the administration has invited the company to reapply.
