Moving beyond Keystone XL

The game of “chicken” over the Keystone XL oil pipeline played for months by President Obama and members of Congress is over.

When Republicans won a majority in the Senate in last November’s election, party leaders declared they would finally pass a bill to approve the pipeline that the Obama administration has delayed for years awaiting more environmental studies.

The president had vowed that he would veto such a bill. Sure enough, the legislation passed earlier this month and, as promised, Obama vetoed it Tuesday.

House Speaker John Boehner said Republicans were not about to give up the fight to construct the pipeline, which they say would create thousands of new jobs and decrease America’s dependence on foreign oil.

The Keystone has been a political volleyball for years, and despite arguments on either side, there are more important issues on which the Congress should be spending its time.

Without the votes to override the veto, it’s time for Congress to move on.

And the president, who still has the authority to grant a permit for construction of the pipeline, should make that decision based on facts and not politics.

This story was originally published February 25, 2015 at 5:52 PM with the headline "Moving beyond Keystone XL."