This is probably going to be a fight all the way, but I am glad to see the congress taking it on.   It is a fight worth having and hopefully, the congress will prevail in this matter, since Obama voted "not present" on it. 

House lawmakers on Thursday approved a plan to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline and expand drilling offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The 237-187 victory for Republican leaders — as part of one portion of a much larger energy and infrastructure strategy — was a relatively painless start to what has become a difficult endeavor for the overall package.

By voice vote, lawmakers on Thursday approved a bipartisan amendment from Gulf Coast representatives directing 80 percent of Clean Water Act fines tied to the BP oil spill to go toward Gulf restoration efforts.

They also easily approved Republican amendments to quicken federal environmental reviews for renewable energy projects on federal lands and waters, and for a geothermal exploration test project.

The House turned away several more amendments from Democrats after easily dismissing eight of them Wednesday.

Those defeated Thursday included an attempt to have Congress prescribe safety requirements for oil and gas leases, and an amendment from Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) that would have prevented exports of any natural gas produced from ANWR. The Republican package already prevents exports of oil from ANWR.

Markey unsuccessfully offered an amendment Wednesday that would have barred exports of oil carried by the Keystone XL pipeline, along with subsequent refined products like gasoline and diesel fuel.

He also lost with his amendment Thursday to require companies that are not paying royalties to the federal government for leases issued in the late 1990s to do so before they could take advantage of the additional areas Republicans are opening for drilling.

The Interior Department mistakenly issued leases in 1998 and 1999 that lacked “price thresholds” that end waivers on paying royalties. The waivers had been common during that decade as an incentive for companies to drill in deep Gulf waters when energy prices were low.

A federal appeals court said in 2009 that Interior cannot retroactively apply the price limits. The Government Accountability Office estimated in 2008 that lost federal royalty revenue tied to the faulty leases could amount to $53 billion over 25 years.

Other unsuccessful amendments Thursday would have carved out a drilling exemption offshore of California’s northern coast, in the Everglades and in the Great Lakes. A bipartisan amendment to affirm that the bill would not affect funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund was withdrawn.

The House’s two-day debate on the policy merits of the Republicans’ strategy became a drinking-game-worthy batch of familiar arguments, including what to do about escalating gasoline prices and legislating amid high oil company profits.

In the end, 21 Democrats backed the GOP energy strategy and 21 Republicans opposed it after 20 amendments and a Democratic alternative were debated

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/73006.html#ixzz1meFUcQJF