US president Barack Obama on Tuesday vetoed a Bill to approve construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, rejecting an effort by Republicans and some Democrats to force his administration to let the highly contested energy project move forward.
By saying no to the legislation, Mr Obama retains the authority to make a final judgment on the pipeline on his own timeline. The White House has said the president would decide whether to allow the pipeline when all of the environmental and regulatory reviews are complete.
But the veto – his first rejection of major legislation as president – is also a demonstration of political strength directed at Republicans who now control both chambers of Congress. Mr Obama is signalling that he will fight back against their agenda.
The Obama administration must decide whether to approve infrastructure projects like the Keystone pipeline, which cross a border with another country.
In his veto message to Congress, delivered with no fanfare on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Obama wrote that the legislation “attempts to circumvent longstanding and proven processes for determining whether or not building and operating a cross-border pipeline serves the national interest”.
Mr Obama added that “because this act of Congress conflicts with established executive branch procedures and cuts short thorough consideration of issues that could bear on our national interest – including our security, safety, and environment – it has earned my veto.”
Since 2011, the proposed Keystone pipeline, which would deliver up to 800,000 barrels daily of heavy petroleum from the oil sands of Alberta to ports and refineries on the Gulf Coast, has emerged as a broader symbol of the partisan political clash over energy, climate change and the economy.
Most energy policy experts say the project will have a minimal impact on jobs and climate. But Republicans insist that the pipeline will increase employment by linking the US to an energy supply from a friendly neighbour. Environmentalists say it will contribute to ecological destruction and damaging climate change.
Mr Obama has hinted that he thinks both sides have inflated their arguments, but he has not said what he will decide.
Republican leaders have said they plan to use the veto, which was expected, to denounce Mr Obama as a partisan obstructionist.
“This is bipartisan legislation being vetoed by a partisan president,” said John Barrasso of Wyoming, chairman of the Senate Republican policy committee. “I think the president has made his decision to side with special interests. This is going to further marginalise the president in the last two years.”
Environmentalists interpreted the veto as a sign that Mr Obama would soon decide to reject the project, as he sought to enhance his environmental legacy.
“All along we’ve hoped that the president meant what he said way back in 2008 about stopping climate change; the veto is a start, but we will find out for sure when he issues his final decision on this gimcrack project,” wrote Bill McKibben, the founder of the group 350.org, which has led the campaign to urge Mr Obama to reject the pipeline.
In recent months, the environmental activists – who have spent years marching, protesting and getting arrested outside the White House in their quest to persuade Mr Obama to reject the project – say they are increasingly optimistic that their efforts will be successful.
"Hopefully the ongoing legislative charade has strengthened his commitment to do the right thing," Mr McKibben added. – (New York Times)