Politics

The House Has Voted to Advance Keystone Nine Times in Four Years

The 10th is set to come on Friday.

By Clare Foran and National Journal
Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) calls the House to order for a swearing-in of the House of Representatives as the 114th Congress convenes on Capitol Hill January 6, 2015 in Washington, DC. Republican John Boehner was re-elected and sworn in Tuesday as speaker of the US House of Representatives, overcoming a surprisingly robust attempt to oust him by two dozen hardcore conservatives. Boehner received 216 of the 408 votes cast in the chamber, winning as expected over Democrat leader and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, who received 164 votes. AFP PHOTO/BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) (National Journal)

The House will vote on Friday to defy President Obama's veto threat and approve the Keystone XL pipeline. It will be the 10th time in four years the House has moved to approve or accelerate a decision on the controversial oil-sands project since Republicans took control of the lower chamber in 2011. Here is a rundown of those votes.

1. July 26, 2011. The House voted 279 to 147 to pass the North American-Made Energy Security Act, a bill that would have required Obama to approve or reject the pipeline by Nov. 1, 2011. The bill did not get a vote in the Senate.

2. Dec. 13, 2011. The House voted 234 to 193 to pass the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act, a bill with a provision that would have required Obama to approve or reject the pipeline within 60 days. The Keystone provision was stripped out in the Senate before the final version was signed into law.

3. Dec. 23, 2011. The House unanimously approved the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act, a bill that was signed into law by Obama. The legislation included a provision requiring presidential approval of Keystone XL within 60 days unless the administration deemed the project not in the national interest. The legislation was unanimously approved by the Senate and signed into law by the president. Obama subsequently rejected the permit for Keystone XL, citing the "rushed and arbitrary deadline" set by the law and requesting that TransCanada, the company seeking to build Keystone XL, reapply for a permit.

4. Feb. 16, 2012. The House voted 237 to 187 to pass the Pioneers Act after Obama rejected a permit for Keystone XL. The bill contained a provision taking authority away from Obama to make a final decision on the pipeline and requiring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to green-light Keystone XL within 30 days. The bill did not pass the Senate.

5. April 18, 2012. The House voted 293 to 127 to pass the Surface Transportation Extension Act, which included a measure stripping Obama of authority over Keystone XL approval and requiring FERC to approve the project within 30 days. The bill passed the Senate after the Keystone provision was stripped out.

6. May 18, 2012. The House voted 261 to 152 to approve a symbolic measure calling on lawmakers working to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the Surface Transportation Extension Act to re-add the provision approving the pipeline. But the provision was not added back to the final version of the bill, which Obama signed into law.

7. May 22, 2013. The House voted 241 to 175 to approve the Northern Route Approval Act and approve the Keystone XL pipeline, taking the decision out of Obama's hands. The bill did not pass the Senate. The bill did not get a vote in the Senate.

8. Sept. 18, 2014. The House voted 226 to 191 to approve the American Energy Solutions for Lower Costs and More American Jobs Act, an energy bill that would have approved the pipeline. The bill did not get a vote in the Senate.

9. Nov. 14, 2014. The House voted 252 to 161 on a bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Despite efforts from Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., to pass the bill in order to help her reelection bid, the Senate fell one vote short of the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster. Landrieu lost her runoff in Louisiana the next month.