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• Environmental groups have criticized the State Department's hiring of ERM, saying the firm should be disqualified because of its previous work for TransCanada.
• A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, a strong Keystone supporter, said the inspector general's report was the latest study to find no reason for the Obama administration to continue blocking the project. The pipeline was first proposed in 2008.
• "It's long past time the president stop pandering to his extremist allies and just approve it so we can get people back to work," Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said.
• But Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., a pipeline critic, said the inspector general's review was overly narrow.
• The report focused on "whether the State Department followed its own flawed process for selecting a third-party contractor," Grijalva said. "The fact that the answer is 'yes' doesn't address any outstanding concerns about the integrity of ERM's work, the State Department's in-house ability to evaluate its quality or whether the process itself needs to be reformed."
• Far from inspiring confidence in the project, the report "is evidence of the problem," Grijalva said.
• The 1,179-mile pipeline has become a symbol of the political debate over climate change.
• Pipeline supporters, including lawmakers from both parties and many business and labor groups, say the project would create thousands of jobs and reduce the need for oil imports from Venezuela and other politically turbulent countries.
• Opponents say the pipeline would carry "dirty oil" that contributes to global warming. They also worry about possible spills.
• Bill McKibben, an environmental activist who has led opposition to the pipeline, said the report revealed that "dirty dealings" are business as usual in Washington.
• "The real scandal in Washington is how much is legal," said McKibben, co-founder of the group 350.org. "This process has stunk start to finish."
• McKibben said he was reassured that the process was now in the hands of Secretary of State John Kerry, saying Kerry has a long record as a climate champion. "There's at least an outside chance of a decision not based on cronyism," McKibben said.
• The report marks the second time the inspector general has cleared the State Department of wrongdoing in its oversight of the pipeline project. In February 2012, the IG found no evidence that State Department employees were improperly influenced by a previous contractor, Cardno Entrix, that had conducted an earlier review.
• The State Department has authority over the project because it crosses a U.S.

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