Authorizing the Keystone XL Pipeline (S. 147)

What is S. 147?

(Updated January 12, 2021)

This bill would authorize construction that would complete the Keystone XL pipeline. It would approve the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement done on the pipeline in January 2014 — essentially green lighting the pipeline extension in terms of required environmental impact analysis.

Argument in favor

Building the Keystone XL will generate thousands of jobs in the U.S., strengthen the country’s domestic energy supply, and potentially draw in billions of investment dollars.

Argument opposed

Keystone XL will transport tar sand oils— and extremely harmful fossil fuel—across thousands of miles of American soil, where a single spill could hurt scores of ecosystems, watersheds, and people.

Impact

People and wild organisms living around the Keystone XL Pipeline route, people in the oil and gas industry in the surrounding areas, Mary Landrieu's career.

Cost of S. 147

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

Of Note: The Keystone XL project has been stalled since 2008, when TransCanada first filed an application for the pipeline. The State Department, which has to approve projects that cross the U.S. border, is still determining whether or not to grant a permit to the company.

Republicans and Democrats have repeatedly tried to pass legislation to get the pipeline up and running with no luck. Of course, even with support from both chambers, President Obama would still have to sign off on any bill related to Keystone.

The stakes in this fight are high for both sides. Environmentalists worry that approval of the project will effectively endorse the continued extraction of bitumen (otherwise known as oil sands or tar sands) in Canada, which has devastated the local environment and contributed to global warming. For TransCanada, which controls the world’s only landlocked oil reserve, the Keystone XL pipeline is their best bet for reaching an international market. For many members of Congress, the pipeline represents a potential source of jobs and income for their constituents, as well as a source of energy security.

On November 11, 2015 President Obama announced that his administration would not allow the Keystone XL pipeline to proceed, saying it would "undercut global leadership" on climate policy.

Media:

• NPR
• The Washington Post
• Open Secrets