Senate committee clears Keystone bill, despite veto threat

A bill to approve the Canada-U.S. Keystone XL oil pipeline cleared a key Senate committee Thursday, setting up a floor debate next week as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called on President Barack Obama to rescind his veto threat.

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources moved the bill closer to full debate by a 13-9 vote. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a sponsor of the bill, was the only Democrat to support it.

New energy committee chairman Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, noted the bill has Democratic support and came within one vote of passing the Senate last year.

The Keystone pipeline would carry oil from western Canadian tar sands across the U.S. to Gulf Coast refineries. The House will vote on its version of the bill Friday and is expected to pass it easily.

The Associated Press