{"id":3355,"date":"2011-12-19T11:04:50","date_gmt":"2011-12-19T17:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=3355"},"modified":"2011-12-19T11:48:41","modified_gmt":"2011-12-19T17:48:41","slug":"what-is-going-on-with-the-keystone-xl-pipeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/12\/19\/what-is-going-on-with-the-keystone-xl-pipeline\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Going On with the Keystone XL Pipeline?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Alex Wong\/Getty Images<\/p>

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It’s been a busy weekend for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline<\/a> and you might be wondering where things stand. The answer: chaos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

First, a little history. The pipeline is a 1,700-mile behemoth that is currently in the planning stages. It would take crude oil from Canada (harvested from the country’s tar sands) to refineries in Texas. The original route would have taken the pipeline through sensitive aquifer and prairie lands in Nebraska. Local opposition there was partly responsible for the Obama administration’s decision, in October, to delay the pipeline until after the Presidential election. It was seen as a victory for environmental groups and a defeat for the industry, and everyone pretty much considered the delay a done\u00a0deal.<\/p>\n

Everyone was wrong.<\/p>\n

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In October, Congress started working on an agreement to extend a payroll tax cut. These extended cuts would mean less money taken out of your paycheck towards Social Security. Both Republicans and Democrats want to extend the cut, but disagree on how much the cut should be and how it will be paid for.\u00a0In late November, Republicans attached an ultimatum to the deal: if the tax cut is extended, the President must make a decision on the pipeline within 60 days.<\/p>\n

“I guarantee you, the Keystone pipeline will be in that bill when it goes back to the Senate.” House speaker John Boehner warned on Friday. With a deadline looming and vacation approaching, the two sides of the Senate agreed to the deal\u00a0Saturday morning in a rare show of bipartisan support, 89-10.<\/p>\n

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