Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) predicts that the House and Senate will agree on a long-term surface transportation bill by June 30, when current funding runs out.
The member of a House-Senate highway bill conference committee also said signs point to a provision mandating the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline being included in the bill.
The State Department this year rejected the oil pipeline running from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico after Congress tried to force it to make a decision. The stated reason was not enough time to consider the pipeline’s merits.
“I think we will pass Keystone as part of the highway bill,” Hoeven, who is a chief Senate proponent of Keystone, said, in an appearance on C-Span’s “Newsmakers” airing Sunday.
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