©2026 League of Conservation Voters
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2012 Scorecard Vote
261
152
18
During House consideration of H.R. 4348, a transportation bill called the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), Representative John Barrow (D-GA) offered a Motion to Instruct House Conferees to insist on including approval of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline when negotiating a compromise between the House and Senate versions of the legislation. This pipeline would transport the world’s dirtiest and most carbon-polluting oil 2,000 miles from the boreal forests of Canada across America’s heartland to an international shipping port on the Gulf Coast in order to export it. The version of the transportation package that passed in the House would grant a permit for the pipeline, despite unresolved environmental and public health concerns, while the Senate-approved version would not. While the Barrow Motion to Instruct would not force negotiators to include Keystone XL in the compromise bill, it was in effect a referendum on support for the pipeline in the House. On May 18, the House approved the Barrow Motion to Instruct Conferees by a vote of 261-152 (House roll call vote 292). NO IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE. Language related to the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline was not included in the compromise transportation bill-H.R. 4348, MAP-21-which President Obama signed into law on July 6.
©2026 League of Conservation Voters