The Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015 is headed back to the Senate floor after weeks out of commission 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 lifted this week as the contended issues were dropped.
The bill, sponsored by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), 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.
Lawmakers could start voting on the bill as soon as next week, though a schedule has not yet been confirmed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), potentially setting up a busy energy week as there have also been signals that the fiscal 2017 Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Bill could hit the floor in coming days.
McConnell voiced support for the bill on the floor of the Senate Thursday morning. ““Passage of this bill will represent the culmination of more than a year’s worth of hard work: countless listening sessions and oversight hearings, numerous amendment votes and debate hours, and impressive reserves of determination from both the Chair and Ranking Member of the Energy Committee,” McConnell said. “Senator Murkowski and Senator [Maria] Cantwell (D-Wash.) never gave up. Even when passage of this bill seemed impossible, they never stopped pushing for it.”
Without the contested amendments, it appears the bill has a good chance of passing. Assuming a favorable outcome, the legislation will then move to the House, where a similar bill was derailed by controversial amendments and threatened with a veto in November.
Regardless of the potential uphill battle through the House, Murkowski’s staff is hopeful about the bill’s future. “Sen. Murkowski’s broad, bipartisan energy bill reflects both good policy and good process. I am extremely optimistic about the Senate taking steps to advance the bill and look forward to the next steps in the legislative process,” Michael Tadeo, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee spokesman, told GHG Daily by e-mail.
The bill got off to a great start: Murkowski and committee Ranking Member Cantwell 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.
Even the first few days the bill spent on the floor remained fairly free of drama, with several amendments passing by voice vote and suggesting little cause for concern. However, confidence in the legislation’s chances slowly waned, when Michigan’s senators, Gary Peters (D) and Stabenow (D), tried to negotiate a $600 million assistance package for Flint into the energy bill.
The Flint crisis began in April 2014 when the city changed its water source from treated Detroit Water and Sewerage Department water to water from the Flint River. The water is heavily contaminated with lead and has caused an ongoing public health issue.
Eventually, the Michigan senators agreed to an aid package authorizing the federal Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to make up to $100 million in grants between now and October 2017 “to any state that receives an emergency declaration … to a public health threat from lead or other contaminants in a public drinking water system.”
All seemed well until Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) voiced objection to the aid package and Stabenow placed a hold on the bill in an attempt to force a vote on the matter. Nelson then placed his hold in response to an amendment to the bill from Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) that Nelson said would incentivize oil? drilling off the Florida coast.
On Wednesday, Stabenow dropped her hold, losing her game of chicken with Lee, and Nelson dropped his hold when the Cassidy amendment was dropped from the bill.
