Keystone XL is dead, but litigation over it is still fueling attacks on Obama’s authority

The Keystone XL pipeline may be dead, but the litigation over it lives on. On Tuesday, attorneys general from six states along the proposed pipeline trail and lawyers from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers filed amicus briefs in energy giant TransCanada’s lawsuit against four Obama Cabinet members saying that the president had exceeded his authority in rejecting the project. In a reprise of arguments used in immigration disputes and other cases involving President Obama’s executive authority, the attorneys general and the Chamber argue that Obama trampled on the power of Congress and the states to regulate interstate and international commerce. The Chamber and manufacturing trade group also claim that the rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline permit – about seven years after the first application was made – has caused harm by costing states jobs, tax revenue and “billions of dollars of economic activity.”...more