GRAND RAPIDS, MI — U.S. Rep. Justin Amash was the sole U.S. House Republican to not vote in favor of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project this week.

Amash, R-Cascade Township, instead voted "present" on a bill to authorize the highly contested transcontinental pipeline between Canada and the Gulf of Mexico.

The vote, conducted Wednesday, May 22, saw the bill pass largely along party lines. Nineteen Democrats joined 222 Republicans in voting for the measure.

Amash is known for voting "present" on legislation he does not oppose but deems unconstitutional.

His spokesman, Will Adams, said in an email that despite his vote, Amash supports the pipeline's construction, but there's a caveat.

"He supports the construction of the pipeline but opposes the singling out of any one company or individual in a bill," Adams wrote.

That explanation mirrors another vote Amash cast in 2011, when House Republicans freshly in control of that chamber passed a bill to defund Planned Parenthood.

Amash explained after that vote he had neither abandoned his pro-life stand nor did he want to fund Planned Parenthood, but its being singled out was troubling.

Fellow West Michigan Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, voted for the bill. It was at least the eighth time the GOP-led chamber has passed a bill to start the project.

If approved, the Keystone XL pipeline would transport oil from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf of Mexico for refinement.

Critics have said the roughly 2,000-mile pipeline would be hazardous to wildlife and the environment, among other issues.

Supporters, including House Republicans, contend the pipeline would help lower gas prices and create jobs.

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