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North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven slammed President Obama Saturday for threatening to veto a bill approving the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline "even before he's seen the final product."

The House passed a bill green-lighting the long-stalled project Friday - the tenth time such a measure has passed the House in the last three years - and the newly Republican-led Senate is expected to take up the measure next week.

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House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the president should not veto a bill to fast-track construction of the Keystone XL pipeline if it passes...

The president, though, vowed this week to veto any attempts by Congress to force his hand on the pipeline, which has been delayed for six years pending the completion of an executive branch review process.

Hoeven, a Republican tasked with delivering the party's weekly address, argued Saturday that six years is quite long enough.

"If the president isn't willing to get on board with the Keystone XL pipeline - which nearly 70 percent of the American people support, all the states along the route have approved and a bipartisan majority of Congress has passed - what will it take for him to work with us to get something done?" he asked.

The pipeline, if built, would carry crude oil harvested from Canadian tar sands to refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Proponents say it would increase energy security and create jobs, while foes argue those benefits are overstated and that the pipeline would exacerbate carbon pollution and climate change.

Hoeven hailed a decision by Nebraska's Supreme Court Friday overturning a lower court ruling that struck down a law proposing the pipeline's route through the state - a decision that effectively cleared that particular impediment to the pipeline's construction.

The administration had previously cited the ongoing legal wrangling in Nebraska in its decision to continue delaying the completion of its review process.

Originally posted here:
Republican senator slams Obama's Keystone veto threat