Not enough votes to override Keystone veto, Del. senator says

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said on Sunday that there will not be enough votes to override a presidential veto on the Keystone XL pipeline. 

“The House took up and passed the Keystone pipeline bill that would take consideration out of the hands of the administration and I think we should notice that there were enough votes voting against that in the House that I think it’s clear there will not be a veto override,” he said appearing on “Fox News Sunday.”

“My hope is that as this comes to the Senate we will take it up, we will not override the president’s coming veto and we will move past this issue and towards a real debate about what Americans want – an energy policy that includes growing good jobs, American innovation and infrastructure, energy independence and one that doesn’t hurt our environment.” 

Coons, who is opposed to the pipeline construction, said it would unlock the Canadian tar sands, some of the dirtiest sources of energy on the planet. 

But Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) said an overwhelming majority of the public wants the project to be approved. 

“Why do you think gas is lower at the pump?” he asked. “It’s because we’re producing more energy and we’re getting more energy from Canada not because OPEC gave us a Christmas present, but because Americans wanted to produce that energy here at home.”