Keystone bill to arrive at White House Tuesday

Republican leaders plan on Tuesday to send President Obama legislation that would authorize construction of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline.

While the bill passed Congress more than a week ago, Republican leaders did not send it to the White House to prevent Obama from vetoing it while lawmakers were out of town for the Presidents Day recess.

“The Keystone XL pipeline approval bill has now passed both chambers of Congress and will go to the president’s desk tomorrow,” Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), one of the authors of the Keystone bill, said in a statement on Monday.

“The administration has delayed this important infrastructure project for over six years, despite a series of environmental reviews, all of which conclude that the project will have no significant environmental impact. It has been more than enough time to make a fair decision on the merits of the project.”

Republicans have been eager to send the Keystone bill to Obama since taking control of both chambers of Congress, having made legislation on the project their first order of business for 2015.

GOP leaders have pushed Obama to reconsider his veto threat, arguing Keystone will create thousands of jobs and help the nation move toward energy independence.

The White House has repeatedly said the president will veto the bill, arguing it circumvents the ongoing review by the State Department.

The president himself has become increasingly more critical of the project, saying in December that the pipeline is “not even going to be a nominal benefit to U.S. consumers.”

It remains to be see how and when Obama will veto the Keystone bill, though few expect it will be rejected in a public ceremony.

— Updated at 12:42 p.m.