Democrats block Keystone XL bill- Joe Katinas

Senate Democrats blocked an effort by Republicans to end debate on a bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, a setback for GOP leaders who must rely on a handful of Democrats who have supported the project in the past in order to get approval of their top legislative priority of the new Congress.

60 votes were needed on a pair of procedural motions to end Democratic filibusters, but each failed on a 53-39 tally.

Democrats who voted against moving to a final vote on the bill said they were frustrated Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell prevented debate and votes on amendments during a tense late-night session on Thursday that short-circuited what otherwise appeared to be actual bipartisan progress on the contentious issue.

"I'm very disappointed," Sen. Tom Carper, D-Delaware, a Keystone supporter, said as he headed to the floor to vote no. "I'm still not sure why that happened."

The vote was significant for Democrats who pointed to it as proof Republicans will need to reach across the aisle to get things done.

"Sen. McConnell promised Democrats an open amendment process and a full-throated debate on the Keystone pipeline and we are holding him to that promise," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, a Keystone opponent. "Trying to muzzle the debate by refusing to allow Democrats even one minute to advocate for their amendment and then simply refusing to hold votes on dozens of amendments is not remotely an open process."

Republicans saw it differently. They pointed to the more than two dozen votes on amendments from both parties as evidence they are running a much more accommodating Senate than the one they faced when they were in the minority for the last several years.

"We've had a lot of floor discussion. We've considered Democrat and Republican amendments," McConnell said before the vote.

What wasn't really explained in the article was what exactly the pipeline could or will be. It's a pipe that would run from the northwest or north midwest and continue to Steele City, Nebraska. It can cause oil leaks and spills and is bad for the environment but good for "big business.

This article makes me feel disappointed. Haven't we learned anything about the harmful effect oil has on the environment? And building this would cost a lot of money when we could be putting that into helping others. Still, it doesn't surprise me that Republicans were the one for this idea and that, thankfully, the democrats tried to stop them. I also saw that Obama plans to veto the bill for the pipeline if it passes through congress. I can relate this to many other times in US history, like the want of gold and silver to use as currency, where one person or group introduced a kind of dumb idea but it was struck down.

Here is the source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/26/politics/keystone-xl-bill-blocked/index.html