Keystone pipeline fight moves to Congress

Though the U.S. Congress currently has no official say in the process of deciding whether to greenlight the Keystone XL pipeline project, which would send tar sands crude from Canada to the Gulf Coast of Texas, leaders in both parties are gearing up for a fight on the subject anyway.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee, chaired by Michigan Rep. Fred Upton, is to hold hearings on Monday on a bill that would set a Nov. 1 deadline for the State Department to make a final decision on whether to allow the project to be built.

According to Reuters, the GOP has stacked the panel that will be testifying with supporters of the pipeline. Out of six witnesses, only one — Jeremy Symons of the National Wildlife Federation — is opposed to the project.

Upton has become an outspoken advocate of the project despite the fact that last year’s spill of a million gallons of tar sands crude oil affected his own district. Experts say tar sands crude is more toxic, more likely to cause pipeline damage and leaks and significantly higher in greenhouse gas production than regular crude oil.

The ranking Democratic member of that committee, Rep. Henry Waxman of California, wrote a letter to Upton requesting that the Koch brothers be questioned about their financial interest in the pipeline project. According to Waxman’s letter, the Koch company has denied that it has any stake in the outcome of the approval process, but as the owners of several refineries that process tar sands oil in the United States, that appears not to be true.

The Koch brothers are heavy supporters of Republican candidates and conservative causes throughout the country. Their critics insist that the billionaires are buying support from politicians for policies that further enrich their bottom line.

Republican aides on the Hill are fuming over Waxman’s request, calling it a “transparently political stunt that has absolutely nothing to do with the real issues at stake – lowering gas prices, jobs, and energy security.”