The long-stalled Keystone XL Pipeline bill passed the House on Friday after Democratic Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu reinvigorated the legislation in a move some are calling a last ditch effort to gain support prior to the Dec. 6 runoff election against GOP-hopeful Rep. Bill Cassidy.
After passing the House Friday with a 252-161 vote, which saw 31 Democrats join Republicans in approval, the issue is now expected to move to the Senate for a vote on Tuesday.
"In an effort to salvage her candidacy, Landrieu, from an oil-rich state, has successfully pushed for a lame-duck Senate vote on the Keystone pipeline," Fox News reported. "But House Republicans have countered by having Cassidy sponsor the bill that would be sent to the White House, [...] and Landrieu says she doesn't care if her name is off the legislation as long as the pipeline is approved."
Both Landrieu and Cassidy have campaigned heavily on their support for Louisiana's oil industry, and both have pledged to force President Obama to approve the pipeline.
"This has been a project that has lingered far too long. It is clearly supported by 60 or more members of this body," Landrieu said on the Senate floor Wednesday, reported CNN. Landrieu is currently chairwoman on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
The Democratic belief is that, should Landrieu have the clout needed to persuade fellow Senate Democrats to approve the bill, which would see TransCanada Corp deliver Canadaian oil sands crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast refineries, such support could translate to improved Democratic voter turnout.
However, G. Pearson Cross, a University of Louisiana at Layfayette political scientist, told Reuters that Landrieu's Keystone push is "too little, too late," and is unlikely to generate the support needed for the Democrat to get reelected in Louisiana. "Doing this only when her job is in peril will be seen as not significant - or desperate," said Cross.
Landrieu told The New York Times on Friday that she is confident that she will have the 60 votes needed for the bill to pass the Senate. Advocates of the pipeline said Friday morning that 59 senators had indicated that they would vote in favor of the bill, said the Times.
Landrieu narrowly beat Cassidy in the primary, at 42 to 41 percent, but since another 14 percent went to GOP candidate Rob Maness, it seems likely that Cassidy will pick up most of that 14 percent in the upcoming runoff.
