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Rare Moment of Consensus for Senate on Keystone Pipeline

An amendment to the Keystone XL pipeline bill offered by Senators Rob Portman, at lectern, and Jeanne Shaheen that is designed to improve energy efficiency in buildings passed, 91 to 5.Credit...Nicholas Kamm/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the Keystone XL pipeline bill that is aimed at improving energy efficiency in buildings — a rare moment of bipartisan agreement in a tense debate that is nowhere near being settled.

Lawmakers voted, 91 to 5, to add the popular energy-efficiency provision to a contentious bill that would approve construction of the Keystone pipeline.

The amendment, offered by a Republican, Rob Portman of Ohio, and a Democrat, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, is backed by President Obama and has broad support among members of both parties in Congress. But the measure will almost certainly languish in Congress for months before it can become law as part of the Keystone bill or as a stand-alone measure.

Congress is expected to pass the Keystone bill after another several weeks of debate and send it to Mr. Obama, who will almost certainly veto it. The president wants to retain the authority to make the final decision on approving the 1,179-mile pipeline, which would carry 800,000 barrels of oil a day from the oil sands of Alberta to ports and refineries on the Gulf Coast.

Mr. Portman and Ms. Shaheen, who have been working together for more than a year on the efficiency measure, say they hope the unusual display of support for it could pave the way for its eventual passage into law, even in a political environment in which energy issues have become fiercely partisan.

“These are really not controversial provisions,” Mr. Portman said. “They’re consistent again with this idea that we should produce more energy, have the infrastructure to bring the energy to the consumer and do it in a way where we are using the energy more efficiently.”

The measure is intended to cut homeowners’ energy use, utility bills and carbon footprints by, among other proposals, making it easier for consumers to buy “smart-metered” water heaters and cheaper for manufacturers to build energy-efficient cooling and heating systems. It would also create incentives for the owners of commercial buildings and their tenants to reduce their energy use.

The amendment is modest, but the vote was a signal achievement. Congress has not passed a significant energy bill into law since 2007.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, who is the chairwoman of the Energy Committee, has said she hopes to incorporate the energy-efficiency measure into a broader energy package later this year if the Keystone bill founders.

The Senate rejected two amendments to the Keystone bill on Tuesday, voting, 57 to 42, to reject a measure offered by Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, which would have forbidden oil shipped through the pipeline to be exported. Senators also voted, 53 to 46, to reject a measure offered by Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, that would have required all steel used to build the pipeline to be made in the United States.

Senators are expected in the coming weeks to debate and vote on dozens of Keystone amendments that cover a variety of energy and climate issues.

Whatever happens in Congress, TransCanada, the company that is hoping to build the pipeline, is moving ahead with its plans. The company announced Tuesday that it had filed the necessary court documents to acquire through eminent domain the Nebraska land it needs for construction.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 13 of the New York edition with the headline: Rare Moment of Consensus for Senate on Keystone Pipeline. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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