The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 1938, a bill which would direct President Obama to expedite the consideration of the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
The bill requires that the President issue a final order granting or denying the Presidential Permit for the Keystone XL pipeline no later than 30 days after the issuance of the final environmental impact statement, but in no event may the decision for the final order be made later than November 1, 2011.
The U.S. State Department has previously stated that the permitting process for Keystone XL would be completed by the end of 2011. H.R.1938's prospects of being approved by the U.S. Senate and being signed into law by President Obama are very slim, but nonetheless, its passage received support from various industry groups and trade unions.
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