WASHINGTON: The US Senate braced for Tuesday's cliffhanger vote on whether to approve construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, with President Barack Obama signaling he might veto the controversial bill.
Congressional Republicans have long pushed the Obama administration to lift its hold on the $5.3 billion, shovel-ready project, which remains under extended review some six years after it was submitted.
The pipeline, which would bring oil from tar sands in Alberta province to refineries on the US Gulf coast, easily passed the Republican-controlled House last week, as it has several times before.
Now, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid finally allowing a vote on the bill, Tuesday's action in the Democratically-run Senate -- the most high-profile vote since Republicans swept to victory in midterm elections earlier this month -- will mark the closest Keystone has ever been to approval.
One of the legislation's sponsors, Senate Democrat Mary Landrieu, said "yes" when asked by reporters Monday whether she had the 60 votes necessary for passage, but she declined to name the elusive final Democrat needed.
The chamber's 45 Republicans are on record supporting the project, as are 14 Democrats.
"We've got 59 announced," said Senator John Hoeven, the bill's Republican co-sponsor.
"I think we'll get there, yeah. But I don't know for sure until we have the vote," he added.
Heightening suspense, independent Senator Angus King, seen as a potential decider, declined to say how he will vote Tuesday evening.
Keystone's progress is closely monitored in Canada, where government officials and builder TransCanada have said the project would provide an economic boon.
But Obama hinted, again, that he may block the bill should it reach his desk.
"With respect to Keystone, I've said consistently... we're going to let the process play itself out," the president said Sunday in Brisbane, Australia.
"But I won't hide my opinion about this, which is that one major determinant of whether we should approve a pipeline shipping Canadian oil to world markets, not to the United States, is does it contribute to the greenhouse gases that are causing climate change."
The State Department, which has authority over Keystone because of its international link, released a review in January finding that the project's carbon emissions would not be significant.
Critics warn of the pipeline's environmental impact, arguing that tar-sand bitumen is some of the world's dirtiest oil.
Republicans tout Keystone as a job-creator, saying it will generate 40,000 temporary construction jobs. The State Department's report agrees, but says only 35 permanent jobs will result from the project.
Republicans gained at least seven Senate seats in the midterm election, and when the new Congress convenes in January they should have the votes to pass Keystone.
But Landrieu forced a vote now, in no small part because she is locked in a December 6 runoff in Louisiana, where she wants to be seen as a breaking gridlock.
Her Republican challenger is congressman Bill Cassidy, who introduced the parallel legislation that passed in the House.
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