WASHINGTON – After six days of political wrangling and vote-whipping,
the Senate failed to pass a bill on Tuesday forcing authorization of
the Keystone XL pipeline, dashing hopes of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) to
add the vote to her list of accomplishments heading into a tough runoff
election.
Fifty-nine senators voted for the bill, one short of
the 60 needed to clear a filibuster. Fourteen Democrats joined all the
Senate Republicans in voting for the bill, which was cosponsored by
Landrieu and John Hoeven (R-N.D.). The House passed companion legislation on Friday from Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Landrieu's opponent in the runoff election.
Landrieu
said going into Tuesday's debate that it was "one of the first debates
I've been in in eight years where the outcome is uncertain." She added,
however, that she went into the debate "knowing in my heart we have 60
votes. I hope we've got the courage that supports that."(more)
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