US Senator to Propose Vote to Approve Keystone Pipeline

U.S. Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu said she will propose debate later on Wednesday and a vote on Thursday to approve the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada.

Landrieu of Louisiana, who faces a runoff election in December to retain her seat, said on the Senate floor she was "confident" she has the votes to pass a bill on TransCanada's $8 billion project.

"I believe it is time to act," said Landrieu, chair of the Senate Energy Committee. "It's a deliverable on promises that we have all made."

A Senate leadership aide said there was no decision yet on the timing of a potential vote on the Hoeven-Landrieu bill, which would take the decision on the pipeline out of the hands of the Obama administration.

Hoeven, Republican of North Dakota, and Landrieu introduced the bill on May 1.

It would "immediately authorize TransCanada's application with the State Department to build the Keystone XL pipeline," Landrieu's office said in May.

Environmental groups have said the controversial project, which would deliver heavy Canadian oil sands crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast, would speed up climate change.

(Reporting by Ros Krasny, Timothy Gardner and Rick Cowan; Editing by Sandra Maler)