By a 2-to-1 margin, a majority of Americans support the construction of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas, according to a new poll.
The
CNN/ORC survey of 1,011 adults showed that 57 percent of the country is in favor of the pipeline, doubling the number of people opposing it, 28 percent, while 15 percent are undecided.
The 1,179-mile project has divided liberal environmentalists from conservatives who claim that it will create jobs, boost the economy and make the U.S. less dependent on Middle East oil.
The Senate is set to vote on the project as early as next week, and would likely authorize its immediate construction even though the State Department has still not finished its review after six years, CNN reported.
The House already passed a bill earlier this month in support of the construction.
But President Barack Obama, who has recently criticized the project, is expected to veto the pipeline due to
environmental concerns.
The poll also showed that backing for the pipeline is strongest in the South, with 65 percent voting for it, while the Midwest had 63 percent giving it the thumbs up.
When it comes to the division along party lines, 80 percent of Republicans backed it, in contrast to just 39 percent of Democrats. Defining by age, 67 percent of people 65 and older support the project while 47 percent of people aged 18-34 want it to be built.
On other major issues, 46 percent of Americans say that Obamacare should be repealed and replaced.
On same-sex marriage, 57 percent of respondents believe that gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to get married.
On global warming, 57 percent say that the heating of the planet is not a serious threat to their way of life, according to the
Dec. 18-21 poll.
And on immigration, one in two Americans, or 50 percent, said that giving legal status to undocumented immigrants shouldn't be the central focus of U.S. policy, while 46 percent maintained that border security is more important, the CNN/ORC poll stated.