Federal Transportation Legislation (2012) - passed by House -- Upton (R - 6th District) comments

as posted in M LIVE dot-com (Kalamazoo Gazette online posting) Friday June 29, 2012 afternoon:

Congress approved a new highway bill today without a Keystone XL pipeline provision championed by Sixth District Congressman Fred Upton (R - St. Joseph, MI).

And the St. Joseph Republican said he doesn't see the 1,500-mile pipeline becoming a reality while Barack Obama is president.

"They've done a good job in the last three-plus years of slowing us down," Upton said in an interview with MLive/Kalamazoo from the House floor before the vote. "It will probably take a change in November to see the project go forward."

Upton said language to approve Keystone XL was ultimately not included in the highway bill because the White House said it would veto the bill.

Environmentalists have raised safety concerns over the pipeline, which would carry 500,000 barrels a day of Canadian diluted bitumen to the Gulf of Mexico. Republicans have tried to get the pipeline approved by tacking it on to different bills, but none have passed. Obama said he would veto a bill, citing that more time is needed to study the enviormental impact of the pipeline.