The Senate’s until recently endangered Energy Policy Modernization Act was overwhelmingly approved Wednesday in an 85-12 vote after more than two months on the floor. “It is true we were a little bit delayed in reaching the point where we are today as we are processing these final amendments, but I thank the Senate and the majority leader for sticking with us on this,” bill sponsor Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said in introducing the legislation on the Senate floor Tuesday, later noting, “some might suggest it was a little bit battered, but, nonetheless, nobody gave up on this bill.”
The bill aims to save energy, expand domestic energy supplies, enable infrastructure investment, protect the electric grid, boost energy trade, improve the performance of federal agencies, and renew effective conservation programs.
For several weeks, the bill was held up due to contentious amendments related to the Flint, Mich., water crisis and offshore drilling. Two holds placed on the bill, one by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and another by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), were finally lifted last week as the contended issues were dropped.
The bill got off to a great start as Murkowski, chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and panel Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) were able to hold off any controversial amendments in committee. The panel in July 2015 voted 18-4 to send the bill to the full Senate.
On the Senate floor Tuesday, Murkowski and Cantwell stressed the need for refreshing the nation’s energy policy, noting that such an update had not been undertaken for nearly a decade. “Our energy space has changed, but what hasn’t changed are the policies. The policies that we see are increasingly outdated and detached from the opportunities we need to advance good energy policy in this country,” Murkowski said.
Since the last update to the nation’s energy policy was adopted, Cantwell said. In the U.S., wind power generation has grown significantly, solar photovoltaic installations are up nearly by 15 times, and the number of LED lights has grown more than 90 times, the senator noted. “This bill takes important steps on research and development of clean energy technologies to help us integrate these new, clean energy technologies that are not already in the marketplace,” Cantwell said.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle praised the legislation. ““This bipartisan energy bill will help the United States maintain its brainpower advantage and create an abundance of clean, cheap, reliable energy to fuel innovation in our free enterprise system,” Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said in a written statement released following Wednesday morning’s vote.
“We need to chart a new course for our energy policy—to fight the climate crisis and ensure American consumers and businesses have the affordable energy they need. This bill takes important steps in that direction,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said in a written statement. “I commend Chairman Murkowski and Ranking Member Cantwell for their leadership on this bill.”
The environmental community was less impressed with the bill, which they argue does not go far enough and exhibits flawed priorities. The bill “fails to seriously address climate change. At a time when America needs strong leadership and decisive climate action, this bill is a missed opportunity,” according to a statement by Environmental Defense Fund-Action President Elizabeth Thompson.
“It is clear that a significant amount of bipartisan effort went into this legislation, but, at the end of the day, the balance of this bill favors the dirty and dangerous fossil fuels of the past at a time when we need to move full speed ahead towards an economy powered by clean, renewable energy,” according to Sierra Club Legislative Director Melinda Pierce. For example, the bill reauthorizes the coal research and development program at the Department of Energy.
All 12 nay votes on the bill were cast by Republican senators: John Boozman (Ark.), Tom Cotton (Ark.), James Lankford (Okla.), Mike Lee (Utah), Rand Paul (Ky.), David Perdue (Ga.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Benjamin Sasse (Neb.), Tim Scott (S.C.), Jeff Sessions (Ala.), Richard Shelby (Ala.), and Pat Toomey (Pa.).
Presidential hopefuls Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) did not vote, nor did Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.).
The legislation will now move to the House, where a similar bill riddled by controversial amendments was passed but threatened with a veto in November.
