House, Senate to vote on Keystone XL

WASHINGTON (AP) – The House and Senate will vote in coming days on legislation to build the Keystone XL pipeline in a high-stakes political poker game.

The two candidates in the December 6th runoff for a Louisiana Senate seat are both pushing the bills. They are three-term Democrat Mary Landrieu in the Senate and Republican Representative Bill Cassidy in the House.

The House is virtually certain to approve the bill on Thursday. Landrieu says she has the votes to pass it in the Senate next Tuesday.

That would leave the fate of the bill up to President Barack Obama. The White House had no immediate comment on the day’s developments.

Keystone XL would pass through Kansas en route to Cushing, Oklahoma and refineries near the Texas Gulf Coast.