Governor says Nebraska Farmers Union was vital in rerouting Keystone XL pipeline

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman thanked the Nebraska Farmers Union during the organization's state convention over the weekend for playing a major role in the effort to reroute the TransCanada oil sands pipeline away from the state's ecologically fragile Sandhills region. Robert Pore of The Independent in Central Nebraska reports the governor said NFU's input was vital. "You put the pressure on, you kept giving us advice, you kept sharing letters and emails, you showed up at two public hearings in Atkinson and Lincoln with the State Department and three days worth of legislative hearings on this issue," Heineman (Photo by Matt Dixon, The Independent) said during his lunch-time speech at the convention. "That is how we got to where we are today."

Controversy still surrounds the pipeline, as House Republicans introduced a bill last week to renew the Social Security payroll tax cut and extend unemployment benefits, with tacked-on language requiring the administration to issue a work permit within two months to begin building the pipeline. Last month, President Obama said he would reject the tax-cut bill if it contains pipeline language. (Read more)