The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote today on legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.

Introduced by U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, the bill was slated for a vote on the House floor on Thursday. But Cassidy said House rules require 24 hours to pass between when bills are introduced and when they are scheduled for a vote.

“The bill is pretty straightforward,” Cassidy said. “It will get us where we need to be with Keystone.”

The Cassidy bill calls for the construction, operation and maintenance of the Keystone XL pipeline. In addition, the bill says the pipeline’s environmental impact statement, submitted by the State Department, will be deemed adequate because it satisfies all of the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

In January, the State Department’s EIS concluded that the pipeline would be unlikely to alter global greenhouse gas emissions.

Cassidy said his bill is the “exact same legislation” as the Hoeven-Landrieu bill that is pending in the Senate. He said House lawmakers figure that by passing his bill the Senate will be pressured to have its vote on the Hoeven-Landrieu bill and not “bluff” it.

“Secondly (the Senate) won’t have the excuse that it’s different than the previous eight that we have sent,” he said. “It’ll be the exact same legislation, and it can go to the president’s desk.”

The Senate is expected to vote Tuesday on the Hoeven-Landrieu bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., has called for a vote for unanimous consent on the bill.

Cassidy said his bill will be the ninth time the House has sent legislation on Keystone to the Senate for passage. He said the previous eight bills have “all sat on (Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid’s desk.”

If the Hoeven-Landrieu bill passes the Senate on Tuesday, President Obama will have 10 days to sign it.

Obama, however, has already voiced concerns on Keystone, saying that if the pipeline contributes to rising carbon dioxide emissions, it would not be in the nation’s best interest to proceed with its construction.

The 36-inch Keystone XL pipeline would carry up to 830,000 barrels of oil a day from the tar sands in Alberta, Canada, south through the Midwest to refineries in Houston and Port Arthur, Texas.

The U.S. State Department has estimated that Keystone’s construction and completion would create 42,000 direct and indirect jobs.(MGNonline)