Keystone XL: Democrats stall bill in Senate

Democrats in the US Senate have temporarily stalled progress on a bill to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline, the top priority of the Republican-controlled Congress.

The Senate voted 53-39 on Monday to cut off debate on the bill in a procedural vote. That’s short of the 60 votes needed.

The vote caps a partisan dispute over the time granted to consider amendments to the bill.

The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, wants to move to pass the legislation, which has enough support. Democrats argued they needed more time to debate additions.

Some Democrats who had supported previous bills approving the pipeline, including one of the bill’s current sponsors, helped filibuster the move to limit debate.