US House approves Keystone pipeline, court clears roadblock

The US House of Representatives approved a Republican measure Friday authorising the Keystone XL oil pipeline, hours after a state court removed a legal roadblock to the controversial project's construction. Lawmakers voted 266 to 153 to pass the bill that circumvents the White House, setting up the first major showdown between newly-empowered Republicans who now control Congress and President Barack Obama who has vowed to veto the measure.
Some 28 Democrats defied the president and voted with Republicans in support of the Canada-to-US pipeline. The bill now heads to the Senate, where debate on Keystone begins next week. Keystone supporters received a huge boost early Friday when Nebraska's Supreme Court dismissed a suit challenging a proposed route of the pipeline.
"On appeal, the state contends that the landowners lacked standing to sue and that L.B. 1161 is constitutional," the court said in a statement, referring to a law that allows major oil carriers to bypass regulatory procedures. Republicans said Obama, who so far has opposed Keystone due to environmental concerns, should consider the court verdict and the House vote as signs Americans are eager to move forward on the project.