The Keystone XL oil pipeline, which became a major political talking point in last year's elections, appears headed that way for the 2014 cycle as well.
A House bill approved Wednesday to bypass the Obama administration and approve the project prompted Republicans to target Democrats who voted against the measure. The bill passed largely along party lines, but it's unlikely to go any further.
The legislation is the Republican-controlled House's latest attempt to speed approval for the 875-mile section of pipeline from Canada to Nebraska. Backers say it would create jobs and lessen dependence on foreign oil.
Critics say extracting oil from the tar sands of western Canada will harm the environment and worsen climate change.
The bill passed, 241-175, with 222 Republicans supporting it and 175 Democrats opposing it.
Reps. Dave Loebsack and Bruce Braley, Iowa Democrats, voted against the bill.
Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., joined 18 other Democrats in supporting it.
Republicans criticized Loebsack and Braley for their votes Thursday.
The GOP said Braley, who is running for the Senate to replace Sen. Tom Harkin, was kowtowing to liberal special interests, particularly after voting for the bill last month in the Energy and Commerce Committee.
"The Keystone pipeline is a rare issue of bipartisan agreement in Washington, but Bruce Braley still managed to politicize it," said Brook Hougesen, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Braley's office said what happened is he recently learned a National Academy of Sciences study of the matter wouldn't be completed until this summer, meeting a key legal requirement.
"As I have said, I believe that the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline should move forward if it meets applicable environmental and safety requirements and gives proper consideration to the property rights of affected landowners," Braley said in a statement.
For her part, Bustos noted Thursday that she backed the Keystone proposal during last year's campaign. She said she voted for the legislation Wednesday "because it will lead to job creation, economic activity here at home and a decrease in our dependence on Middle Eastern oil."
The vote puts her in the same position on the issue as former Rep. Bobby Schilling, R-Ill., who touted his votes for Keystone during last year's campaign. Schilling may run against Bustos in next year's election.
Loebsack, meanwhile, said there is a way to move forward.
"However, it is deeply unfortunate that House leadership put forward a political bill that has no chance of being signed into law," he said.
It's unlikely the House bill will be taken up by the Democratic-controlled Senate. Also, the Obama administration is opposing the measure, saying it conflicts with longstanding executive branch procedures and short-circuits environmental review.
The bill, the administration said, would have deemed a two-year-old draft environmental impact statement to have met the law's environmental requirements.
Republicans who support the bill say the pipeline has been studied enough. It was first proposed in 2008.
The State Department is expected to issue a final environmental report this summer, according to The Associated Press.
In a report this spring, the department said the project was not likely to cause significant environmental damage to most resources along the route, according to the AP.
The administration must review the matter because the pipeline crosses an international border.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]

Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information:
http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp

Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship
e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's
latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent
editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/