Minnesota Sen. Al Franken's amendment would have required that the pipeline be built with American steel. It was killed by a 53 to 46 vote.
Republicans have a stack of excuses: U.S. steel might not meet the requirements for the pipeline and requiring that they be built using U.S. materials could actually violate international agreements on trade. But none of that stops Trump and Republicans from making the promise. Repeatedly.
Since the materials were already purchased for Keystone, Trump's move to revive the project should not result in new large steel orders.
The profits for manufacturing that steel were booked by companies with corporate headquarters in Russia, India and Italy.
When it comes to infrastructure, using U.S. materials can drive up the costs.
"Domestic-made steel usually out of the mill will cost 70, 80 percent more than Chinese steel out of the mill," Davis says.
Which could increase the cost of entire projects. However, this increased cost could be well worth it if the results were more jobs, more investments in U.S. factories, and long-term improvements for both the states building the infrastructure and the states sourcing the materials.
However, there’s a snag …
States can get waivers from the federal government's "buy America" and other such requirements if complying increases the costs significantly, if a certain material or product is difficult to get, or if it may create significant construction delays.
So, the requirements are that you have to buy American, unless it costs more. Which it does. What are the odds of Republicans changing that nifty loophole?
About 53-46.