In a recent story distributed by the Tribune Content Agency, reporter Curtis Tate notes that building the Keystone XL pipeline would not be likely to affect proposals to haul Bakken crude oil by rail to West Coast seaports, including Vancouver. Tesoro and Savage Cos. have proposed a facility at the Port of Vancouver, where oil could be received by train, stored and shipped by water to refineries.
“North Dakota is producing a million barrels a day, nearly three-quarters of which move by rail, and could produce 2 million barrels a day in a few years. At most, Keystone would move 100,000 barrels of Bakken crude a day, barely a dent in the production,” Tate wrote. “What’s more, it would reach only Gulf Coast refineries, not the ones on the East and West coasts, which have become increasingly reliant on unit trains.”
He also noted that the 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline from western Canada to the Gulf Coast would be completed long after energy, pipeline and rail companies made major investments in rail infrastructure, including loading and unloading terminals, tank cars, locomotives and track.
WASHINGTON — A widely popular, bipartisan energy savings bill fell victim in the Senate on Monday to election-year politics and the Obama administration’s continued indecision on the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
In a recent story distributed by the Tribune Content Agency, reporter Curtis Tate notes that building the Keystone XL pipeline would not be likely to affect proposals to haul Bakken crude oil by rail to West Coast seaports, including Vancouver. Tesoro and Savage Cos. have proposed a facility at the Port of Vancouver, where oil could be received by train, stored and shipped by water to refineries.
"North Dakota is producing a million barrels a day, nearly three-quarters of which move by rail, and could produce 2 million barrels a day in a few years. At most, Keystone would move 100,000 barrels of Bakken crude a day, barely a dent in the production," Tate wrote. "What's more, it would reach only Gulf Coast refineries, not the ones on the East and West coasts, which have become increasingly reliant on unit trains."
He also noted that the 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline from western Canada to the Gulf Coast would be completed long after energy, pipeline and rail companies made major investments in rail infrastructure, including loading and unloading terminals, tank cars, locomotives and track.
A procedural motion to end debate and bring the measure to a floor vote without amendments fell five votes short of the 60 votes needed for approval.
The legislation would tighten efficiency guidelines for new federal buildings and provide tax incentives to make homes and commercial buildings more efficient. It easily cleared a procedural hurdle last week but stalled after Republican demand for votes on the Canada-to-Texas pipeline and on new administration-proposed greenhouse gas limits for coal-burning power plants.
Republicans are united in favor of the pipeline and against the new power plant regulations, while Democrats are deeply divided on both. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., used a parliamentary maneuver to block Senate votes on the pipeline and power plant rules as part of the energy savings bill.
Reid said Monday that Republicans were “still seeking a ransom” on the energy bill by insisting on the Keystone amendment and other votes. He said he had agreed to a long-standing request from pipeline supporters for a separate vote on the pipeline if its supporters would let the efficiency bill sail through unamended.
Minority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, called Reid’s maneuver disappointing. “The Senate used to be a place of great debate and accomplishment. Now it is run like a dictatorship shutting out the voices of millions of Americans,” he said.
Election-year politics loomed on all sides.
Democrats said Republicans were unwilling to hand a victory on the energy efficiency bill to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., a co-author of the bill who is facing a re-election challenge from Republican Scott Brown, a former Massachusetts senator who now lives in New Hampshire. Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio also co-authored the energy legislation.
Shaheen and Portman both said they were disappointed at the defeat of a plan they said would create almost 200,000 jobs, reduce pollution and save taxpayers billions of dollars.
“People in New Hampshire and across the country lost out today because of election-year politics,” Shaheen said, while Portman called the vote “a disappointing example of Washington’s dysfunction.”
Partisan discord was so strong that three Republican senators who co-sponsored the energy legislation voted against it Monday to protest the exclusion of amendments. Among those voting no was Sen. John Hoeven, a North Dakota Republican who has been the Senate’s chief GOP supporter of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Democrats also said the GOP wants to deny political cover to Sen. Mary Landrieu, who faces a tough re-election fight in Louisiana and to other Democrats in energy-producing states who have pushed for the pipeline’s approval during their campaigns. A Senate vote on the pipeline would help Landrieu and Democrats such as Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska, even if it fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance it. President Barack Obama delayed the project indefinitely last month, citing uncertainty over the pipeline’s route though Nebraska.
Landrieu, who chairs the Senate Energy Committee, has made Keystone approval an important part of her re-election campaign. She angrily denounced Republicans who opposed the energy bill, a move that also blocks a Senate vote on the pipeline.
“They chose to have an issue, as opposed to having a pipeline, and that’s very disappointing,” Landrieu said, naming Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as the chief culprit.
On the other side, Republicans accused Democrats of dodging a vote on blocking the Obama administration’s proposed limits on carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants. No matter the outcome, having to vote on what Republicans call Obama’s “war on coal” would be uncomfortable for Democrats struggling to hold their Senate majority. Many Democrats in energy-producing states oppose the regulations.
Republicans also wanted a vote on boosting exports of liquefied natural gas, another hot political issue. Lawmakers from both parties support increased gas exports, although 22 senators — mostly Democrats — wrote a letter to Obama last week warning that increased exports could lead to higher prices for consumers and possible shortages next winter.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday that Obama is committed to increasing energy security and efficiency and “will not rest even if Congress won’t act.”
Obama announced a series of executive actions last week aimed at increasing energy efficiency and reducing U.S. reliance on carbon fuels. They include the completion of energy efficiency standards for walk-in coolers and freezers typically used in grocery stores. He also announced that more than 300 companies, including Wal-Mart, have pledged to boost their use of solar technology.
