GOP lawmaker: Keystone will be approved if we win Senate

A key GOP senator predicts swift approval of the Keystone XL pipeline should his party regain control of the upper chamber in November.

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) tells The Hill that President Obama is unlikely to approve construction of the controversial pipeline before the mid-term elections, but Congress would tackle the issue if Republicans win control of the Senate.

{mosads}”[President Obama] is going to do what he can to keep [Keystone] from being approved. However, we can still do something even if it ends up overriding a presidential veto to open that up before the end of his term. I anticipate that is going to happen but not until after the 2014 elections,” said Inhofe, a senior member of the Environment and Public Works Committee.

Sixty-two senators voted for the construction of the pipeline in a non-binding budget measure last year.

The GOP-led House has passed a binding Keystone measure in a bipartisan vote. However, to override an Obama veto, more Republicans will have to be elected to Congress this fall.