Approve the Pipeline Now Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on public landsLand owned by the federal government, about a quarter of the country, managed by agencies including the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and Park Service.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) and Environmental regulationA binding rule written by a federal agency under authority Congress gave it. It has the force of law, but it is not a statute and can be changed without Congress.Read the full definition (opens a new tab).
Approve the Pipeline Now Act - Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) issue a Presidential permit approving the pipeline described in a specified application filed by TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. to the Department of State for the Keystone XL pipeline, as supplemented to include the Nebraska reroute evaluated in a certain Final Evaluation Report issued by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality; and (2) issue a final environmental impact statement for such pipeline.
Deems such final environmental impact statement, coupled with the Final Evaluation Report, to satisfy all requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
Prohibits the expenditure of federal funds to pay more than 75% of the salary of any senior official in the Department of State if either the Presidential permit or the final environmental impact statement remains unissued 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
Directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Army to issue all permits associated with the pipeline project that were applied for before enactment of this Act.
Prohibits the expenditure of federal funds, if the relevant permit remains unissued 30 days after enactment of this Act, to pay more than 75% of the salary of: (1) any senior official in the Department of the Interior, or (2) the Secretary of the Army and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on December 11, 2013. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 17, 2013: Referred to the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JACK KINGSTON (R-GA) introduced it on December 11, 2013. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on December 11, 2013, 4656 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4650 days ago, on December 17, 2013.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers