More Dems Supporting Keystone XL Pipeline - Why Is Obama Threatening A Veto?

"Obamanomics" By A.F. Branco

Update 4:00 PM:  The Senate passed (86-13) the Defense Authorization H.R. 1540 Bill.  The bill now goes to the President.
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Today in Washington, D.C. - Dec. 15, 2011:
Yesterday, all 47 Senate Republicans voted for S.J. Res. 10, their strong balanced budget amendment, but Democrats voted along party lines to kill the amendment, with all 53 voting against it. Prior to that vote, a Democrat alternative balanced budget amendment was defeated by a vote of 21-79.

Last night the House passed (283-136) H.R. 1540, the $662 Billion 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which has moved to the Senate for a vote. The bill passed with  bipartisan support with 190 Republicans voting yes and 43 voting no and the Democrats voting 93 votes for and 93 against the bill. The bill requires that foreign terrorists / fighters who plot or carry out attacks on US targets are to be held( potentially indefinitely) in military, not civilian, custody, subject to a presidential waiver. However, the bill exempts US citizens, but leaves it to the US Supreme Court or future presidents to decide whether US nationals who sign on with al Qaeda or affiliated groups may be held indefinitely without trial. The bill includes freezing $700 million in aid to Pakistan pending assurances by Pakistan has taken steps to stop the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) against US-led forces in Afghanistan. The bill forbids the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to US soil and sharply restricts moving such prisoners to third countries.  Also included  was a requirement to crack down on counterfeit electronics  from China being acquired by the Military supply chain thus risking the reliability of high-priced US weapons programs.

Yesterday, the White House also advised the media that President Obama will not veto the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act.

The Senate today  began consideration of the nomination of Morgan Christen to be United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  Around 4 PM, the Senate is expected to vote on the Christen nomination, followed by a vote on the conference report for the $662 billion Fiscal Year 2012 Defense Authorization bill, H.R. 1540. Specific funding of weapon systems is detailed in the bill.

Discussions are ongoing concerning government funding for the next year. The current continuing resolution (CR) expires at midnight on Friday night. There had been bipartisan agreement on the remaining FY 2012 appropriations bills that would fund operations through the end of the current (2012) fiscal year, but Democrats have pulled back at the behest of the White House, risking a shutdown they once called ‘extreme’ and ‘too risky to even entertain.’

Also under discussion is a House-passed bill that extends President Obama’s top priority, the payroll tax cut, which doesn’t include tax increases and instead requires the State Department make a decision on approving the Keystone XL pipeline, which could create tens of thousands of jobs. However, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is inexplicably calling the bill (H.R. 3630) “dead on arrival,” and Senate Democrats spent most of Wednesday trying to force a quick Senate vote to kill it. Republicans objected to those attempts, forcing Democrats back to the drawing board.

Though Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has called the bipartisan House-passed bill requiring the State Department to make a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline “dead on arrival,” more and more Democrats are expressing their support for the pipeline, which could create tens of thousands of jobs

In the House bill, which is similar to a bill introduced by a large group of Senate Republicans, the State Department would have 60 days to approve the pipeline (in the wake of 3 years of environmental studies) unless the president explicitly says the pipeline is not in the national interest. Interestingly, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee said on the floor yesterday, “I personally think the pipeline is absolutely in the national interest. It'll help us reduce our dependence on foreign energy, at least foreign sources that are hostile to our interests. . . . I, for one, on this side would hope that this could be part of a final package, and I hope that this is something we could work through in the coming hours.”

Other Democrats have also recently expressed support for Keystone XL. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), part of House Democrat leadership, told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell yesterday, “I’m very much for the pipeline. There is no question about that.” And Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) seemed open to moving more quickly on the pipeline in an MSNBC appearance yesterday. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said earlier in the week, “I'm mean, all the trade unions, everyone’s for it, it creates thousands of jobs!”

Previously, Democrat Senators including Montana’s Max Baucus and Jon Tester, Alaska’s Mark Begich, and Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu have all expressed support for the Keystone XL pipeline. In July, 47 House Democrats voted for a bill that would have required the president to move forward on the pipeline and in October, 22 House Democrats wrote to President Obama, “Mr. President, America needs the Keystone XL Pipeline. It is in our national interest to have a Presidential Permit issued for Keystone XL as soon as possible.”

As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said to CNBC’s Larry Kudlow last night, “There has to be something in there, Larry, . . . that creates jobs, the Keystone pipeline, ready to go, we’ve already had 3 years of environmental studies, the president’s trying to put it off until after the election because it makes his active environmentalists angry. The Keystone pipeline’s supported by the Teamsters, supported by the AFL-CIO, supported by everybody in the country who wants to create jobs—doesn’t cost the government a penny. [It] needs to be a part of the package. And the president has been acting like he’d veto it, which of course, for [someone] who says he’s interested in creating jobs, really quite inexplicable.”

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