This is beyond disgusting.

Last month, after years of protests, demonstrations, and arrests (as well as serious accusations of fraud), President Obama backed off from a fast-track approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline. The megabillion project, which would transport dirty tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada across the heartland of America to Gulf Coast Refineries, is an environmental nightmare. Even the state of Nebraska held a special legislative session to try to block it.

Now, with crunch time on the budget once again coming around, it looks like the GOP is taking hostages once again.

This time around, it’s the payroll tax cut – a temporary measure that would put an average of $1500 in the wallets of more than than 100 million Americans. It’s the kind of relief that hard-working middle class families desperately need as the recession drags into its fourth year.

Which makes it the perfect hostage for the GOP.

Reuters reports:

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives said on Friday they will attach a bill designed to speed approval of the Keystone pipeline to payroll tax cut legislation House Speaker John Boehner hopes to pass this month. The move is designed to ratchet up the heat on President Barack Obama, whose administration has put the Keystone XL pipeline on hold pending a study of a new route, pushing a decision past the 2012 presidential election.

How would this work?

Boehner’s bill would strip the administration of responsibility for reviewing the pipeline

Instead, that job would go to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

That industry-friendly body would be much less likely to let minor issues like contamination of the biggest aquifer in America’s heartland get in the way of oil industry profits.

The White House isn’t in the mood to play this game. “The proper place for this to be done is where it’s been done in the past, so that it’s done well and reviewed responsibly,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

But the GOP has nothing to lose. Roll something completely irrelevant into the bill, and then trade it for something they really want. It’s a form of political hardball that the Democrats have yet to learn.

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What can you do?

You can go to TarSandsAction.org to get plugged into the fight to stop the Keystone pipeline.

Head over to OccupyTogether.org to find out more about joining the 99%.

More on tar sands and the fight to prevent the Keystone XL pipeline: