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House poised to pass pipeline bill as Senate wrangles

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee members, from left, Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., confer on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015, as the committee crafts a markup of the long-stalled Keystone XL pipeline bill. The bill, at the top of the GOP agenda, was passed out of the committee and will go to the Senate floor for debate. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee members, from left, Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., confer on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015, as the committee crafts a markup of the long-stalled Keystone XL pipeline bill. The bill, at the top of the GOP agenda, was passed out of the committee and will go to the Senate floor for debate. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee members, from left, Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., confer on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015, as the committee crafts a markup of the long-stalled Keystone XL pipeline bill. The bill, at the top of the GOP agenda, was passed out of the committee and will go to the Senate floor for debate. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By Associated Press 2 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – House Republicans are on track to easily pass legislation to authorize the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, moving the GOP-led Congress closer to a clash with President Barack Obama.

Friday’s vote will be the 10th time since July 2011 that the House has voted on legislation advancing the pipeline, and the outcome is expected to be no different: It will pass.

But the effort is still likely to hit a dead end, despite the fact the Senate on Thursday cleared an identical bill out of a committee. The Senate bill has the backing of 60 members, enough to pass the full chamber, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell moved to start debate immediately. Democrats blocked his effort, setting up a test vote early next week.

The White House has said Obama will veto the bill if it passes the Republican-controlled Congress because it “prevents the thorough consideration of complex issues that could bear on U.S. national interests.”

Republicans have countered that Obama is derailing a bipartisan bill to improve the nation’s energy infrastructure that the majority of Americans want. The $5.4 billion project, which would move tar sands oil from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries, was first proposed in 2008.