Sen. Mary Landrieu will use a maneuver that would would require the blessing of every senator to proceed to a vote on approving the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline.
The Louisiana Democrat, who faces a runoff election next month, plans to ask for “unanimous consent,” she announced Wednesday, which would allow for a vote as early as this week on the Canada-to-Texas project. But she would need to ensure there’s no defections from the GOP or anti-Keystone XL members in her own party to proceed with a standalone vote on a measure she has cosponsored with Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.
“With a little push right now it could get done,” Landrieu said of the bill, which has 57 cosponsors including all 45 Republicans.
Democratic leaders are considering allowing a vote on Keystone XL, according to media reports, which some believe could boost Landrieu’s chances of re-election. She is facing stiff odds in her Dec. 6 runoff against GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., announced Wednesday that the lower chamber would vote on Cassidy’s bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline Thursday.
It’s questionable whether Keystone XL foes in the Democratic caucus would aid the Louisiana Democrat, who votes more often with Republicans on energy and climate issues. But Democrats also know that a vote on the pipeline is inevitable when Republicans control the upper chamber beginning in January, as GOP lawmakers have made no secret of their intent to vote on it.
Still, Landrieu and her supporters in the Democratic caucus would need to corral liberal senators such as Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who have voiced strong opposition to the pipeline. They have expressed concerns that the pipeline would speed growth of Canadian oil sands, a type of oil that emits 17 percent more greenhouse gases when burned.
Whether the push for unanimous consent succeeds depends partly on whether the GOP wants to give Landrieu a win.
Republicans also might want to wait to approve Keystone XL — which has been in federal administrative limbo for more than six years — because they will likely be closer to securing a veto-proof majority when the Senate changes hands.
