USA TODAY: ….The Republican-controlled U.S. House approved a bill on Tuesday, 234-193, to accomplish both, but Republicans included a provision — opposed by the White House and most Democrats — to accelerate action on the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas. Republicans say the bill will create jobs, but Democrats say the project to create a new oil transport system from Canada through a swath of U.S. states needs further study of its environmental impact.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., went on the Senate floor and immediately dismissed the House-passed bill as “a pointless, partisan exercise,” and pledged its defeat when the Senate votes on it, as early as Wednesday. “The Senate will not pass it,” he said. “The sooner we get that vote, the sooner the negotiations can begin in earnest.”
Senate Democrats are advocating a Reid bill that will pay for the payroll tax cut extension and the cost of unemployment benefits by raising taxes those earning $1 million or more annually. Republicans have opposed every effort to raise taxes this year, and continue to do so. The current impasse means neither bill can pass the other chamber… (more)
