Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
5/16/2014
Due to arguments over the addition of several amendments dealing with, among other issues, the U.S. Environmental Agency’s proposed New Source Performance Standards by Senate Republicans, a bipartisan energy efficiency bill died on the Senate floor Monday. Republicans should have been willing to sacrifice the amendments for a vote on the bill, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) suggested at a PoliticoPro event Tuesday morning also attended by Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) saying, “If I had to choose, I would give up the amendments on energy efficiency just to get a vote on energy efficiency. Knowing how we’ve been operating for the last year since I’ve been here, since, [Sen. Hoeven’s] been here, and I was really determined on getting a vote, that was the sacrifice you had to make. It’s not right, but it is what it is.”
Two of the proposed amendments that were blocked dealt with the NSPS, which would set emissions guidelines and largely mandate carbon capture and sequestration for new coal-fired power plants. One amendment backed by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell would have barred the EPA from issuing, implementing or enforcing new source performance standards unless those standards meet a list of requirements, including that they may not set a standard based on the best system of emission reduction for new sources within a fossil-fuel category unless that standard has been achieved for at least one year on six units, which must be located on different power stations in different locations on a commercial basis. McConnell’s proposal also would have prevented the EPA from using results obtained from any demonstration project in setting the standard. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) had proposed an amendment in the bill to include a provision that should the EPA propose a rule that limits greenhouse gas emissions which would result in increased costs to any federal agency, they must also include in the rule an offset from funds available to the Administrator.
The blocking of the amendments was unprecedented and unacceptable to Senate Republicans, Hoeven said. “Five energy related amendments on an energy bill is minimal. When [Former Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark)] was in the senate, a bill like that you could have unlimited energy related amendments offered and allowed … We’ve had something like eight amendments we’ve been allowed to offer since a year ago. That’s not the Senate; you have to allow some kind of open process, whether it’s on energy or anything else.”
Both Senators express hopefulness that the bill would be brought back onto the floor for a vote. “There was no way the Republicans were going to vote to shut down amendments when they weren’t allowed any. At this point Senator Reid had decided to pull the bill from the floor, which is his decision. I certainly hope they’ll bring it back,” Hoeven said, echoing Manchin who said, “that’s a vote we should have had. We should have had a vote on energy efficiency.”
