Senate Democrats announced this afternoon they will go home for a month-long recess without taking action on a scaled-back energy measure that was their best chance for any legislation addressing the issue before the midterm elections. A voted had been scheduled on the energy bill, which would create jobs and establish new thresholds for BP’s financial responsibility along the Gulf Coast.
With senators citing the hottest July on record, they bashed Republicans for not joining them on a bill they said would hold BP accountable for the oil spill and which would create incentives for green jobs.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared, “We are not giving up on energy,” but pointedly said something would be accomplished by the “end of the year,” not before the election. Republicans hopeful they could win back control of Congress this fall are cautioning Democrats against any major legislation during a lame-duck session.
“It’s clear that Republicans remain determined to stand in the way of everything,” Reid told reporters at a press conference. He said the votes are postponed until after senators return from recess Sept. 14.
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), who worked on a bipartisan bill for months, said Reid does not have the needed votes on this bill or any comprehensive energy measure because “not a single Republican” is on board.
“It really just shouldn’t be this hard,” he said, going on to complain about GOP obstruction.
Kerry claimed Republicans have forced the same number of procedural cloture votes from January 2009 through today as were held between World War I and a man walking on the moon. “They are shutting down the Congress,” he said.
Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said they will keep trying to convince Republicans to support a bill that targets BP.
“We need time,” Boxer said. She said Thomas Jefferson didn’t envision government would need a supermajority to function, but, “It is what it is and we will go seek out that vote.”
Reid insisted he’s confident the majority party can convince a handful of Republicans to come on board based on “good conversations” they’ve had with the minority party. He also told a reporter that the premise of her question about Democrats who don’t support the party’s energy legislation was “simply not true.”
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