Landrieu slams Roberts’s comments as ‘beneath’ dignity

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) blasted her colleague Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) for suggesting she wants a vote to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline purely for political reasons.

“I was very disappointed in the senator from Kansas,” Landrieu said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “I think he said he was ‘bemused’ that we would be debating this, because he thinks it’s some kind of political issue.”

{mosads}Later Tuesday, the Senate will vote on approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport oil from Canada through the United States to Gulf Coast refineries. Environmentalists oppose the project.

Landrieu spearheaded the effort to hold the vote, but could be one vote short of the 60 needed for passage.

Last week, the House passed the same legislative language from Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.). The two lawmakers are battling in a runoff election for the Senate seat.

Roberts suggested that Democrats are only allowing the vote on S. 2280 now that Landrieu is at risk of losing her seat.

Landrieu said she was surprised by the former Marine’s comments, because they had worked closely together on the U.S. response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

“For him to come to the floor and make those remarks after being in the fox hole with me that day … is beneath the dignity of the state he represents and the Marine Corps,” Landrieu said.