Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) took his frustration twitter Friday over House Republican’s new plan to couple the payroll tax cut extension bill with an approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline project.
The Obama administration said earlier this year that it would like to delay approval of the Keystone pipeline until after the 2012 election, in order to allow further examination for any risks.
On Wednesday, as Republicans reportedly were preparing a new plan that included approval of the Keystone project, President Barack Obama stated that he would not accept a plan that included “whole bunch of extraneous issues.”
“If the House sends us their bill with Keystone in it, they are just wasting valuable time b/c it will not pass the #Senate,” Mr. Reid tweeted on Friday.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) then retweeted Mr. Reid’s statement and cc’d House Speaker John Boehner. Mr. Boehner has been one of the main Republican lawmakers urging the president to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline because of the job creation it would spur.
“[With] the middle class facing a huge tax increase on the 1st of Jan., now is not the time to be debating unrelated measures like an oil pipeline,” the Senate majority leader added via twitter.
U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) echoed Mr. Reid’s sentiments Friday in an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” but also said that President Obama may scale back his threat not to accept the new Republican backed plan to extend the payroll tax cuts and approve the Keystone XL Pipeline Project.
He believes Mr. Obama may eventually accept a plan that includes approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline, as long as it includes an extension of the payroll tax cut.
“Most of the members on the Democratic side are going to look a little suspiciously at that,” Mr. Cleaver said referring to the GOP backed proposal.
“However, we’ve got to get a deal done, and if the president was serious about vetoing that then I have a feeling that we’re probably going to be here during the Christmas holidays. Its not an easy vote for people like me who is considered to be an environmentalist,” the Missouri Democrat added.
The Keystone XL pipeline project would run a pipeline from the oil sands of northeastern Canada to oil refineries along the gulf coast of Texas, with multiple connections in areas of the mid west.
“If we throw the pipeline into this deal, it means that there will be no hearings on that, the public will get no information on potential environmental damage. I do think that if I had one minute to vote, I probably would vote to accept the deal, but it’s not good government,” Mr. Cleaver said.
Mr. Boehner met with House Republicans Thursday to discuss the delay of the Keystone project. They are expected to vote next week on the new plan that would include approval of the pipeline along with the payroll tax cut extension.
Democrats have supported the president’s proposal to impose a 3.25 percent surcharge tax on Americans who earn over $1 million as a method for funding the extension of the payroll tax cut. Republicans have staunchly opposed that deal, and the Senate blocked a Democratic bill on Thursday that included a scaled back 1.9 percent surcharge.
The inclusion of a speedy approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline project has been seen by Democrats as political scheming by Republicans.
“I think what we’re seeing is desperation now because it is inevitable that the payroll tax is going to be approved, as well as unemployment insurance,” Mr. Cleaver stated in his MSNBC appearance.
“The Republicans can’t go home without that being done, and so they’re trying to find something that they can throw in that might suggest that they were the winners,” the Missouri Democrat added.
