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After a day of emotional debate in which Canada’s oil was either praised for contributing to U.S. energy security or disparaged for harming the environment, the United States Senate failed to pass legislation Tuesday evening to allow construction the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to Texas.

The bill was one vote short of the 60 needed to force President Barack Obama to take a stand on the Canadian project after six years of regulatory reviews and five environmental studies, all of which concluded there would be no significant impact.

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What’s in it for us? The dirtiest oil in the world, so Canadians can make more money?

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The senate vote, with 59 for and 41 against, capped a day of high drama on Capitol Hill, where in addition to KXL, Canada and its oil sands industry were front-and-centre during six hours of debate.

Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ed Markey was among those who contributed to the bill’s defeat.

He said KXL would enable Canadian companies to reap bigger profits by sending their oil through the U.S. to the Gulf Coast, where it would be shipped to Europe, Latin America and China because “they will pay more for this oil than the United States.” Meanwhile, he argued KXL would mean higher gasoline prices for Americans.