Senate GOP wants Obama to decide on Keystone veto

Republican leaders in the Senate want President Obama to make it clear immediately whether he would veto a bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.

The senators, led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), sent their letter a day after the White House expressed a “dim view” of the bill that both chambers of Congress said they’ll vote on in the coming days.

{mosads}The lawmakers said they want to know whether the upcoming Senate vote on the bill should be taken seriously or if it is just political maneuvering.

“The American people deserve to know if the effort by Democratic leadership to finally make good on our request to vote to approve the Keystone XL pipeline is a serious attempt to build the pipeline and grow our economy, or if this is a shell game designed to give certain Democratic senators cover as they meet with constituents to discuss this issue,” the senators wrote Thursday.

Their statement was likely a reference to Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), a lead sponsor of the bill, who called Wednesday for unanimous consent to bring the bill up for a vote. She is facing a runoff election for her seat early next month against Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who is sponsoring identical legislation in the House.

Other senators have similarly accused Democrats of bringing the bill to the floor to help Landrieu politically.

In the letter, McConnell, along with Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), David Vitter (R-La.) and John Thune (R-S.D.), demanded that Obama issue a “statement of administration policy” on the bill that includes whether or not he plans to veto it.