rssReid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest
Tuesday, August 03, 2010 at 4:01 pm
- 44 Comments
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced another delay on an oil spill response bill Tuesday. (Pete Marovich/ZUMApress.com)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced today that he will not hold a floor vote on an energy and oil spill response bill this week, the latest delay in a months-long effort to pass legislation to address the massive disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and reform the way the country uses energy. With the delay, the package cannot be considered until Congress returns in September from its summer recess.
“Since Republicans refuse to move forward with any meaningful debate, we will postpone tomorrow’s votes on energy until after the recess,” Reid told reporters in the Capitol today. “In the interim, we will continue to work to get Republican votes for a strong bill that holds BP accountable, creates jobs, lowers costs and protects the environment.”
[Environment1] Republicans stood together to oppose the legislation and some Democrats raised issues with the bill as well, making it impossible to find the 60 votes necessary to overcome a GOP filibuster and move the package forward to an up-or-down vote.
At the center of the opposition is a provision in the bill that would remove the $75 million cap on a company’s economic liability in the event of a spill. Republicans, as well as oil state lawmakers like Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Mark Begich (D-Alaska), argue that small- and medium-sized companies will not be able to drill in the Gulf of Mexico if they are held liable for all of the economic damages related to an oil spill. They say that such a provision would hurt the economy and drive offshore drilling and the jobs that go with it overseas, where regulations are less stringent.
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) had been working behind the scenes to try to come to a compromise on the language, which he authored. But it appears that his efforts did not yield the votes necessary to pass a bill before the recess. Menendez worked to win the votes of Begich and Landrieu, as well as moderate Republicans. A Senate aide familiar with the discussions told TWI yesterday that Menendez was willing “to listen” to the lawmakers that oppose his liability language, but would not budge on removing the cap entirely.
Environmentalists were again disappointed by Reid’s decision, though they note privately that they were not surprised by the delay. It’s the latest frustration for environmentalists, who, over the last several months, have seen their hopes for an economy-wide cap-and-trade program, a scaled-down utility-only cap on carbon emissions and a renewable energy mandate dashed.
Athan Manuel, director of lands protection for Sierra Club, said the delay was more of the same. “It’s just the same old, same old. The Republicans don’t want to cross the aisle to work with the Democrats. Neither side seems to be that motivated to get something done by the recess,” he said.
A second environmentalist, who asked for anonymity to discuss the issue, said part of the reason a vote on the bill was delayed is because Democrats feared facing their constituents during the recess. “There’s a lot of fatigue and some folks are worried about what’s going to happen when they go home,” the environmentalist said.
Some Democrats worried that the oil spill response bill would be cast by Republicans as a gas tax, a tactic that has worked in previous summer months when gas prices tend to be higher, the source said. But such an assertion is ludicrous because gas prices are set on the world market and would not increase based on passage of the legislation, the environmentalist said.
Republicans, for their part, have jumped on the delay to underscore what they are categorizing as a schism in the Democratic caucus. Robert Dillon, spokesperson for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), said in an e-mail, “The truth is Republicans offered a better alternative that was attracting Democratic support, so the majority leader pulled his bill rather than be embarrassed by a vote in favor of the Republican bill.”
In addition to the language on oil spill liability, Reid’s bill includes provisions to restructure the now-defunct Minerals Management Service, which was in charge of permitting offshore oil and gas drilling; require the use of new technologies in offshore wells; and provide incentives for home energy efficiency retrofits, among other things.
This post has been updated with additional information.
Follow Andrew Restuccia on Twitter
44 Comments
Trackback posted August 3, 2010 @ 4:11 pm
Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest « The ……
I found your entry interesting do I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog :)…
Pingback posted August 3, 2010 @ 4:15 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Samuel Rubenfeld, WashIndependent. WashIndependent said: Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest – http://bit.ly/cYKW2F [...]
Pingback posted August 3, 2010 @ 4:16 pm
[...] the rest of this great post here Comments (0) Posted in Oil Spill [...]
Pingback posted August 3, 2010 @ 4:36 pm
[...] full post on The Washington Independent advertising Share and [...]
Pingback posted August 3, 2010 @ 5:10 pm
[...] action on scaled-back energy billAFPSenate postpones action on oil spill billPittsburgh Post GazetteReid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at EarliestThe Washington IndependentNew York Times -Atlanta Journal Constitution -MarketWatchall 502 [...]
Pingback posted August 3, 2010 @ 5:31 pm
[...] Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest « The … [...]
Pingback posted August 3, 2010 @ 5:39 pm
[...] For more on the delay, see my story. [...]
Pingback posted August 3, 2010 @ 5:40 pm
[...] Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest « The … [...]
Pingback posted August 3, 2010 @ 10:35 pm
[...] drilling legislation to after August recessBoston GlobeGOP Blocks Scaled-Back Energy BillCBS NewsReid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at EarliestThe Washington IndependentHuffington Post (blog) -Politico -USA Todayall 620 news [...]
Pingback posted August 3, 2010 @ 10:43 pm
[...] stripped down energy and oil spill response bill will not get a vote this [...]
Pingback posted August 3, 2010 @ 10:48 pm
[...] stripped down energy and oil spill response bill will not get a vote this week. “Since Republicans refuse to move forward with any meaningful debate, we will [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 12:39 am
[...] stripped down energy and oil spill response bill will not get a vote this week. “Since Republicans refuse to move forward with any meaningful debate, we will [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 12:57 am
[...] Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest « The … [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 1:31 am
[...] Read more here « It’s a story worth repeating: Brett Favre may be retiring – Los Angeles Times Desperate woman calls 911 for a date » [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 2:00 am
[...] Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest « The … [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 2:05 am
[...] Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest « The … [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 2:16 am
[...] Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest « The … [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 2:21 am
[...] Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest « The … [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 3:07 am
[...] Gulf Oil Spill Nasa ImagesReid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest The … [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 3:09 am
[...] Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest « The … [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 5:38 am
[...] Oil Spill Nasa ImagesReid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest The …Dubai's oil and gas industry a plethora of job opportunities … Switch to some fast [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 7:26 am
[...] Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest « The … [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 7:28 am
[...] Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest « The … [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 8:21 am
[...] Menendez (D-N.J.), who’s championed the liability cap, tried to work out a compromise. It didn’t come together.So, now that the easy-to-pass version is no longer easy to pass, what happens? Dems’ goal was [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 8:48 am
[...] Link: The Washington Indenpendent [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 10:03 am
[...] Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest « The … [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 10:04 am
[...] Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest « The … [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 11:02 am
[...] oil spill response legislation — especially after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) punted yesterday on passing a bill before the August [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 11:38 am
[...] Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest « The … [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 12:52 pm
[...] Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest « The … [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 1:59 pm
[...] Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest « The … [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 2:48 pm
[...] in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) energy and oil spill response bill. Reid announced yesterday that he won’t bring the bill to the floor before the August recess. That means the bill will [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 3:39 pm
[...] liability from an oil spill. This, coupled with broad opposition from Republicans, led Reid to announce yesterday that the Senate would not vote on the bill before the August [...]
Pingback posted August 4, 2010 @ 10:46 pm
[...] 8/3/2010: Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced today that he will not hold a floor vote on [...]
Pingback posted August 6, 2010 @ 1:25 am
[...] Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest « The … [...]
Comment posted August 16, 2010 @ 9:09 am
Fashionable
and welcome everyone to come buy.
Pingback posted August 16, 2010 @ 1:20 pm
[...] Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) delayed a vote on a stripped-down energy and oil spill response bill before the August recess because he did not [...]
Comment posted October 23, 2010 @ 12:36 pm
In addition to the language on oil spill liability, Reid’s bill includes provisions to restructure the now-defunct Minerals Management Service, which was in charge of permitting offshore oil and gas drilling; require the use of new technologies in offshore wells; and provide incentives for home energy efficiency retrofits, among other things!
Trackback posted March 10, 2011 @ 3:01 pm
Popular Sites We Like…
[...]some interesting sites worth visitng. We recommend all our readers go and check these out[...]……
Trackback posted April 11, 2011 @ 6:19 am
Recent Favourite Sites…
[...]below you can check out my recommended links page http://www.hemorrhoidtreatmentcurerelief.com/my-favourite-sites/ with some fantastic sites that I think you should definitely visit[...]…
Comment posted May 18, 2011 @ 12:40 pm
Howdy, just turned into aware of your post through Google, and found that it is truly educational. I am gonna be careful for brussels. I’ll be grateful in case you continue this in future. A lot of other folks will be benefited from your writing. Thnkx
MBT Shoes clearance
Comment posted May 26, 2011 @ 9:26 am
We have all been fond of office 2007 professional plus furniture haven’t we? With ms windows 7 designs available in all parts of Windows 7 Ultimate, Internet is one medium to choose the best Cheap Windows 7 at competitive prices and that too at a store near your Office 2010 Professional. Below http://hohosoftware.wordpress.com summarize some Microsoft Office 2010 to help you choose the best Office 2007 Enterprise for your corporate as well as office 2007 product key : Generally, while http://hohosoftware.blogspot.com are searching Office 2007 Key, we just type in our window 7 and start browsing the http://peaksoftwares.blogspot.com which appear in the Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise. But here is the Cheap Windows 7 : most of the searches we do without specifying a location with the purchase windows 7 , we end up wasting our time. Let http://peaksoftwares.wordpress.com take an example of windows 7 download . Now people go to Google and type “Windows 7 Ultimate ” and start browsing the Buy Windows 7 . They spend a lot of time finalizing Download Windows 7 but when they decide to contact the Win 7 for the price quotes and delivery time, they generally end up realizing that the Microsoft Windows 7 from which they had selected the Windows 7 , belongs to a different country and the buy microsoft office 2007 cannot export to a their Windows 7 Professional. The simple solution to Windows 7 Professional would have been, assuming that the Buy Windows 7 buyer resides in India, to search for the keyword “Microsoft Windows 7 India” or “Windows 7 Home Premium in India” instead of the keyword “Download Office 2010” because when the buyer searched for “buy office 2007”, sites from different countries showed up, microsoft office professional 2010 plus might have had good designs Office 2007 download were not available in window 7 but they were of no use. The purchase windows 7 advantage of using a location such as Office 2007 Ultimate, in case it suits the buyers, office professional 2007 plus can go and checkout their Office 2007 Key and maybe get a better design microsoft office downloads has recently become popular but is not ms office 2007 professional on the website.
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
