Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/445640
ByDavidEspoandDina Cappiello The Associated Press WASHINGTON Legislation approving construction of the Keystone XL oil pipe- line cleared an initial Sen- ate hurdle Monday, a vic- tory for newly empowered Republicans angling for a quick veto showdown with President Barack Obama. The bipartisan 63-32 vote was three more than the 60 required, and well above the level the highly contro- versial measure ever gained in recent years when Demo- crats controlled the Senate. The measure has sparked intense debate over the Canada-to-Texas pipeline's potential impact on em- ployment and the environ- ment. While the project was proposed six years ago, the White House opposes the legislation as long as the administration is still con- ducting its formal review. But with more than enough votes at their com- mand, Republican and Dem- ocratic supporters said they hoped the legislation could win final approval and be sent to the White House by the end of next week. "President Obama has ev- ery reason to sign the jobs and infrastructure bill that we will pass," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mc- Connell of Kentucky. He noted that the Nebraska Supreme Court had recently rejected a legal challenge brought by opponents, an obstacle the White House had cited. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Ha- waii, made the case for the opposition. He said that if constructed, the pipe- line would carry "some of the dirtiest, most danger- ous and most polluting oil in the world." He called the project "anti-clear water, anti-clear air, anti-public health." The proposed 1,179-mile pipeline would begin in Canada, enter the United States at Morgan, Mon- tana, cut across South Da- kota and connect with an existing pipeline in Steele City, Nebraska, that in turn reaches refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast. It would carry an estimated 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day. The White House has re- peatedly threatened a veto. If Obama follows through, it will become the first of what are expected to be numerous clashes with the Republican majorities now in control of both houses of Congress. Since Congress convened on Jan. 6, the White House has issued a total of five veto threats, including two Monday. By bringing the legisla- tion to a vote swiftly after taking over the Senate ma- jority, Republicans hope to achieve two goals at once. Passing the measure is the first. Ushering in a new era of open Senate debate, with the opportunity for lawmakers to seek votes on proposed changes, is the second. "It's the latest example of Congress getting back to work under a new Republi- can majority," said McCon- nell, in a jab at Democrats who have generally blocked votes on amendments over the past few years. Democrats said they wel- comed that, and some read- ied proposed changes that would try to put Republi- cans on record concerning climate change. The Republican-con- trolled House passed pipe- line legislation last week, as it often has in recent years. This time, for the first time since the project was pro- posed six years ago, the Sen- ate is in Republican hands and the legislation com- mands enough bipartisan support to assure its ap- proval — if not enough to override a veto. The most recent Senate vote, held in November, was on passage of a bill identical to the one voted on Monday. That gained 59 votes. This time, 52 Republi- cans, 10 Democrats and one independent voted to allow it to advance. All the votes in opposition were cast by Democrats. The pipeline project has unanimous support from Republicans in Congress, but it divides Democrats. Environmentalists gener- ally oppose the legislation, while several unions sup- port it for the jobs it would create. BIPARTISAN VOTE SenateadvancesKeystonebill despite Obama's veto threat J.SCOTTAPPLEWHITE—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., a Democratic sponsor of the long-stalled Keystone XL pipeline bill, flanked by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., right, and Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., le , makes his plea at the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee markup on the controversial project, Thursday on Capitol Hill in Washington. ALBUQUERQUE POLICE DEPARTMENT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE James Boyd, 38, le , is shown during a standoff with officers in the Sandia foothills in Albuquerque, N.M., before police fatally shot him. By Russell Contreras The Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Two Albuquerque police offi- cers were charged with murder Monday in the kill- ing of a homeless man, a shooting that led to some- times violent protests and a federal investigation into the city's police force. Police said SWAT team member Dominique Perez and former detective Keith Sandy fatally shot Boyd, who was holding two knives, during a standoff in the foothills of the San- dia Mountains. Video from an officer's helmet camera showed Boyd, who author- ities say was mentally ill, appearing to surrender when officers opened fire. The shooting occurred during a year when po- lice tactics came under in- tense scrutiny around the country, fueled by the fatal shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri, and the choke- hold death of another un- armed man in New York City. Grand juries declined to charge officers in those cases, leading to protests. "Unlike Ferguson and unlike in New York City, we're going to know. The public is going to have that information," said District Attorney Kari Branden- burg, who said she decided to bring murder charges and avoid a grand jury to heighten transparency. Each officer faces a sin- gle count in the March death of 38-year-old James Boyd. The charges allow prosecutors to pursue ei- ther first-degree or second- degree murder against the officers. Sam Bregman, law- yer for Sandy, said there is "not one shred" of evi- dence to support the case. Bergman says the officer had no criminal intent when he encountered the knife-wielding homeless man who had a long his- tory of violent encounters with authorities, and that he followed training proce- dures outlined by the po- lice department. As a police officer, Sandy "had not only the right but the duty to defend a fellow officer from a mentally un- stable, violent man wield- ing two knives," Bregman said. Luis Robles, an attor- ney for Perez, said he was "confident that the facts will vindicate Officer Per- ez's actions in this case." The FBI is also investi- gating, but U.S. authorities have not said if the officers will face federal charges. Even before Boyd's death, the U.S. Justice De- partment was investigat- ing the use of force by Al- buquerque police. The de- partment recently signed an agreement to make changes after the govern- ment issued a harsh report. Since 2010, Albuquer- que police have been in- volved in 40 shootings — 27 of them deadly. After Boyd's death, outrage over the trend grew. The criminal charges were the first Brandenburg has brought against offi- cers in a shooting. She is in her fourth term as district attorney and is waging a fight with the Albuquerque Police Department over al- legations that she commit- ted bribery while interven- ing on behalf of her son in a burglary case. Police believe she should be charged with bribery because they say she of- fered to pay a victim not to press charges. The at- torney general's office is handling the matter. Albuquerque officers cha rg ed w it h mu rd er in March shooting HOMELESS MAN By Jim Kuhnhenn The Associated Press WASHINGTON A year ago, in a high-profile address, President Barack Obama offered a somber assess- ment of what ailed the mid- dle class. The economy was not working for everyone, he said, and many Ameri- cans had a nagging sense that the deck was stacked against them. These days, Obama has a bullish new message that in essence challenges the bleak picture he painted back then. "American resurgence is real," he says. "Don't let any- body tell you otherwise." Despite multiple signs the recovery is indeed tak- ing hold, some are saying otherwise, from conserva- tives to liberals in the pres- ident's own Democratic Party who point to stag- nant wages and a yawning rich-poor income gap. The clashing messages reflect Obama's need to boost his economic credentials and establish a post-recession legacy, and the desire by lawmakers to push their divergent economic poli- cies. Obama is unfurling his retooled message ahead of his Jan. 20 State of the Union address. It comes as the public warms toward the economy and as eco- nomic confidence moves into positive territory for the first time since 2007. For Obama, the idea of changing his tone on the economy gelled after the November midterm elec- tion, aides say. So in the two weeks in December before leaving for a Hawaii vaca- tion, he huddled with his economic team to outline themes for the State of the Union address and recast his rhetoric. In a way, his audience is the same public that a year ago he said was discour- aged by what he called a "dangerous and growing inequality and lack of up- ward mobility." "They need to under- stand that there are rea- sons to be optimistic, that there is true, tangible, solid growth and that we believe it's going to portend good things," White House com- munications director Jenni- fer Palmieri said in an in- terview. But the economic ail- ments Obama described in his December 2013 speech are deep seated and have not disappeared. Some White House allies say there is a risk Obama's new mes- sage won't resonate, or may even backfire, if he doesn't acknowledge many Ameri- cans are still struggling. "I understand why they want to tout the good news and especially when other people are only wanting to tout the negative," said Lawrence Mishel, an econ- omist and president of the liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute. "But I think he's got to paint a picture of why there are continued problems and what can be done about it." And others, like Jared Bernstein, a fellow at the Center on Budget and Pol- icy Priorities who served in the White House as chief economist for Vice Pres- ident Joe Biden, caution economic growth on its own won't boost stubbornly stagnant wages which rose only 1.7 percent in 2014, hardly above the 1.3 per- cent inflation rate. 'RESURGENCE IS REAL' Economy message a shi from last year's tone CAROLYN KASTER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS President Barack Obama speaks at Pellissippi State Community College, Friday in Knoxville, Tenn., about new initiatives to help more Americans go to college and get the skills they need to succeed. 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