Witnesses at a US Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing sharply disagreed on whether the proposed Keystone XL crude oil pipeline would help or hinder US security. The Mar. 13 hearing came days after the deadline for submitting public comments to the US Department of State, which is considering whether the project would be in the national interest ( OGJ Online, Mar. 6, 2014 ). “I hope this can be a balanced, thoughtful hearing—[one] that puts aside some of the politics that have surrounded this debate, and deal with the underlying question of what is in our national interest,” Robert Menendez (D-NJ), the committee’s chairman, said in his opening statement. DOS continues to deliberate that question, but the final decision whether to grant TransCanada Corp., the project’s sponsor, the necessary cross-border permit rests with US President Barack Obama. Mar. 12 marked 2,000 days since TransCanada submitted its original applications, noted […]