Fight over Canadian oil pipeline moves to Congress

The dispute is over a plan to send oil from western Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast

By Matthew Daly

Published May 23, 2011 6:45PM (EDT)

FILE - In this April 28, 2011 file photo, a truck delivers gas to a CITGO station in Wethersfield, Conn. Oil is sliding nearly 3 percent on a stronger dollar Monday, May 23, 2011. Meanwhile, gasoline pump prices dropped nearly a penny to a new national average of $3.843 per gallon. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, file) (AP)
FILE - In this April 28, 2011 file photo, a truck delivers gas to a CITGO station in Wethersfield, Conn. Oil is sliding nearly 3 percent on a stronger dollar Monday, May 23, 2011. Meanwhile, gasoline pump prices dropped nearly a penny to a new national average of $3.843 per gallon. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, file) (AP)

A dispute over a plan to send oil from western Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast is moving to Capitol Hill, as the Republican-led House takes up a bill to speed a decision by the Obama administration.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee is holding a hearing on a bill that would set a Nov. 1 deadline for the State Department to decide whether to allow a Canadian company to build a 1,900-mile pipeline to carry crude oil extracted from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas.

GOP Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan, who chairs the energy panel, said it makes sense to pursue reliable and affordable energy in North America. He said the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would create thousands of jobs and help cut gas prices.


By Matthew Daly

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