TransCanada Pipeline Bill Would Force U.S. Permit Within 60 Days

Senate Republicans introduced a bill that would require the Secretary of State to issue a U.S. permit for TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days unless President Barack Obama decides against it. The U.S. State Department has delayed a decision for at least a year on the $7 billion pipeline from Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries. The department, which has jurisdiction because the project would cross an international border, said Nov. 10 it would study an alternative route to avoid the Sandhills area of Nebraska that overlays an aquifer supplying drinking water to 1.5 million people. “President Obama has the opportunity to help create 20,000 new jobs now,” Senator Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican, said today during a press conference in Washington. “He’s delayed the decision until after the 2012 election, apparently in fear of offending a part of his political base.”