Congress plots new moves to sidestep Obama on Keystone pipeline

Key Congressional leaders are determined to find a legislative end-run around President Barack Obama’s decision this week to kill the Keystone XL pipeline project. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, will begin hearings next week and has asked State Department Secretary Hillary Clinton to testify. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) says all options are on the table including new legislation to make an end-run around the president to okay the $7 billion project that would create 20,000 new jobs and boost the country’s struggling economy. Republicans will also look at legislation already moving through the approval process to see whether language authorizing the pipeline can be attached, Boehner said. “I’ll just say this: this is not the end of the fight,” Boehner said. “Republicans in Congress will continue to push this because it’s good for our country and it’s good for our economy and it’s good for the American people, especially for those who are looking for work...more