WASHINGTON — President Obama came under new pressure on Friday to make a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline as the Nebraska Supreme Court cleared the way for its construction through the state and the House passed a bill forcing approval of the project.
The House vote of 266 to 153 in favor of the pipeline sends the measure to the Senate, which is likely to pass the bill in the coming weeks.
The Nebraska ruling eliminates Mr. Obama’s chief reason for delaying his decision on whether the pipeline should be built, since he had said repeatedly that he would wait to determine the project’s fate until the state court weighed in.
The ruling also strengthens demands from Republicans and some Democrats that Mr. Obama approve the pipeline, which would carry 830,000 barrels of oil per day from the oil sands of western Canada to the ports and refineries of the Gulf Coast.
“He’s out of time and excuses,” said Brigham McCown, an administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration during the George W. Bush administration. “It puts the ball fully in his court.”
Read the full story at the New York Times.