Most Americans want Congress to move on if President Obama rejects a cross-border permit needed to build the northern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline, according to a poll released Monday.
Sixty-three percent of the survey’s 800 respondents want lawmakers to drop the battle over the pipeline if Obama nixes it, according to a Feb. 10-12 poll for the League of Conservation Voters conducted by Hart Research. That compares with 31 percent who want Congress to attempt to push Obama to approve the project if the administration rules Keystone XL isn’t in the national interest.
“At a time when Americans already are frustrated with Congress for turning every issue into an endless battle, congressional leaders will provide more evidence that they are out of touch with the public and wasting time if they try to continue litigating Keystone after the Obama administration has made its decision,” Geoff Garin, president of Hart Research, said in a memo.
The determination on whether Keystone XL is in the national interest is expected from the State Department soon. The agency, which has been reviewing the pipeline for more than six years, is assessing comments from other federal agencies.
At the same time, a bill approving construction of the 1,700-mile pipeline that would bring oil sands from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the Gulf Coast will hit Obama’s desk Tuesday. Neither chamber had the requisite two-thirds majority to trump a veto. But Senate Republicans, who would have the first crack at overturning a veto, haven’t ruled out trying.
“The administration has delayed this important infrastructure project for over six years, despite a series of environmental reviews, all of which conclude that the project will have no significant environmental impact. It has been more than enough time to make a fair decision on the merits of the project,” chief bill sponsor Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said Monday.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said on Monday that a veto would be coming soon. The president has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to make a decision once the bill reaches the White House.
“I would anticipate, as we’ve been saying for years, that the president will veto that legislation, and he will, so I would not anticipate a lot of drama or fanfare around it,” Earnest said Monday.
Republican voters were more keen on lawmakers trying to force approval of the $8 billion project. The poll showed Republicans were more likely to find Keystone XL an important issue, with half of them doing so. For Democrats and independents, Keystone XL was the least important item out of eight the poll measured, which also included job creation, climate change and dependence on foreign oil.
Union and industry supporters of the pipeline say it would provide a jobs boost and strengthen energy security. Opponents, such as environmental and public health groups, contend the pipeline would exacerbate climate change and lock in fossil fuel production.
The poll of likely voters was conducted through landline and cell phone interviews.
