Democratic Leader Blocks Senate Vote on Keystone

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats are refusing to let supporters of the Keystone XL oil pipeline to use an energy efficiency bill as a vehicle to attempt winning congressional approval for the controversial project. Majority Leader Harry Reid used a parliamentary move Wednesday to block a Republican amendment on the pipeline as well as a measure to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from imposing new greenhouse gas regulations on coal-burning power plants. The proposed Canada-U.S. pipeline would extend from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast. It would run through eastern Smith County. The Obama administration announced last month it was delaying a decision on the pipeline’s fate indefinitely. Reid has offered supporters a vote on a stand-alone bill that deals with only the pipeline. All 45 Senate Republicans and as many as a dozen Democrats support the project. Environmental groups oppose it.