11/30/11 2:05pm

Article By: Marty Niland

Senate Republicans have introduced legislation aimed at forcing President Obama to decide on the Keystone XL pipeline.

The Obama administration has delayed a final ruling on the proposed 1,700-mile link from the Alberta oil sands of Canada to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast because of concerns about the planned route through environmentally sensitive regions of Nebraska. The State Department has said an environmental review of the new route won't be complete until early 2013. Lawmakers in Nebraska have also passed legislation requiring that the state conduct its own environmental review of the new route before it can proceed.

The delay has drawn praise from environmental groups opposed to the project, but pipeline owner TransCanada has agreed to work with Nebraska officials on a new route and had predicted that the pipeline will eventually be built.

A draft of the federal legislation, sponsored by Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), would require the State Department to issue a permit within 60 days unless the president publicly determines that it is not in the national interest. It would also require that the permit recognize an alternative route approved by Nebraska, and allows construction to continue elsewhere while Nebraska shifts the route within its borders.

At a news conference today attended by Republican co-sponsors and supporters of the bill, Lugar said swift approval of the project would address not only the nation's energy security needs, but the problem of unemployment as well. "The Keystone XL pipeline is the largest infrastructure project ready now for construction in the United States. President Obama has the opportunity to help create 20,000 new jobs now," he said. Lugar said the project is a $7 billion investment in the U.S. economy and would also encourage oil production in the Bakken Shale areas of North Dakota and Montana.

Lugar, the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said he hopes the panel will have a hearing on the bill promptly, but he said there have been no discussions with the Democratic majority about advancing the bill to the floor.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a leading Capitol Hill opponent of the pipeline, issued a statement promsing to fight Lugar's bill vigorously. "At a time when the State Department Inspector General is conducting a special inquiry into possible conflicts of interest related to the State Department’s handling of this project, it is completely inappropriate to try to short-circuit the thorough environmental review process federal law requires," he said.