Senate approves Keystone project

Nine Democrats defied President Obama to join Republicans as the Senate voted 62 to 36 in favor of Keystone late on Thursday, but short of a threshold of two-thirds to override a presidential veto.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest repeated Obama's veto threat on Thursday.

The $8 billion (7-billion euro) project, initiated in 2008, has been beset by delays and debate and has undergone numerous amendments.

Compromise bill?

The House of Representatives approved its own Keystone legislation earlier this month and must now decide whether to endorse the Senate bill or enter into two-chamber negotiations to thrash out a compromise.

Reacting to the Senate go-ahead, House Speaker John Boehner called on Obama to "drop his threat to veto this common-sense bill."

It would strengthen the United States' energy security and create "thousands and thousands of new, good-paying American jobs."

Many of Obama's Democrats oppose Keystone, warning of the risk of leaks along the 1,200-mile (1,900 kilometer) pipeline and pleading for "greener" energy sources.

They say more energy will be used to convert tar sands into oil than processing oil from traditional drilled sources.

Climate change 'real'

One amendment that passed nearly unanimously in the Senate was the statement that "climate change is real and not a hoax." The Senate said oil sands should be subject to a tax that helps to pay for oil spill cleanups.

Critics had accused Republicans of refusing to acknowledge that climate change is caused at least in part by human activity.

The State Department in a recent environmental impact assessment concluded that Keystone was not likely to alter overall greenhouse gas emissions blamed for climate warming.

ipj/gb (dpae, AP, AFP)