Sanders challenges Clinton on Keystone

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders challenged his rival Hillary Clinton Tuesday to take a stand against the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Speaking with reporters in the Capitol, Sanders he took a leadership role in Democrats’ fight against the proposed Canada-to-Texas pipeline, while Clinton has been silent on the project.

{mosads}“I have helped lead the opposition against the Keystone pipeline,” the Vermont senator said. “I think Secretary Clinton has not been clear on her views on that issue.”

In a later statement, Sanders added that he opposes Keystone “because of concerns about climate change.”

Sanders used his speech near the Senate floor to draw comparisons between himself and Clinton on a number of policies where she either has not taken a position or has taken one different from him, like trade and banking regulation.

Clinton’s silence on Keystone has been one of the top sticking points for environmentalists, who have mostly avoided endorsing her.

As secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, Clinton was one of the most senior Obama administration officials responsible for its review of TransCanada Corp.’s application to build the pipeline, a process that has stretched on for more than six years.

In 2010, she said the administration was “inclined” to approve the project. But she has been silent since then.

Sanders, meanwhile, has been actively courting environmentalists, and was ranked by the super PAC Climate Hawks Vote as the best senator on climate in the 2013-2014 session of Congress.

In Sanders’ speech, he also took jabs at Republicans for their positions on climate change.

“I do not believe that my Republican friends do not understand the science. I think they are afraid to come out and take on the Koch brothers, take on Exxon Mobil,” he said.

 “If they say that, the next day they would be challenged in primaries.”

— Peter Schroeder contributed to this story.