From Senate & News Sources: While Senate Democrats had sounded like they "might be willing" to work out an agreement on how to move forward with energy legislation, Sen. Harry Reid yesterday returned to his tactic of throwing popular bills in front of Republicans, hoping they will take the bait and vote to move off of energy, thus saving Democrats from having to take difficult votes.
On Saturday, it was LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program). The New Hampshire Union Leader writes, “[Sen.] Reid tried to call a vote on the LIHEAP bill without allowing amendments to it, either. Had the Senate approved that procedural move, every attempt to address high oil and gas prices would have been removed from consideration indefinitely. The bill addressing those issues would be off the floor, and only Reid could bring it back.” The Union Leader criticizes Reid’s maneuver in an editorial today: “Clearly, Reid timed these votes for political effect. It was a slick trick to make Republicans appear opposed to LIHEAP, and The New York Times, among others, fell for it.”
On Monday, it was the omnibus bill of popular measures that Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) wanted amendments on. And yesterday, Reid tried with a package extending popular tax breaks, but which was previously rejected because it contained new tax increases.
Despite Reid’s tactics, Senate Republicans have stuck together and blocked these cynical attempts to avoid voting on producing more American energy. Yet Reid is trying again today with a cloture vote on a bill to shield journalists (but not bloggers) from being compelled to reveal sources. Incredibly, after that vote, Reid has scheduled another vote on the tax extenders bill. Sen.John Cornyn said on the floor this morning, “Why it is that our colleagues in the majority are trying so hard, putting up cloture vote after cloture vote to try to change the subject rather than to have us stay focused to do something to bring down the price of gasoline is frankly beyond me.”
Indeed, the Democrats’ treatment of the energy issue, has gotten so ridiculous, it prompted a critical editorial from Roll Call:
[The] treatment of energy legislation [by Congress] has been an embarrassment. As the price of fuel has soared, all beleaguered consumers have seen their legislators do is shout at each other and resort to parliamentary games to block politically unwelcome votes. . . . [i]t’s not hard to figure out why Congress has a 14% approval rating in the Gallup poll.Senate Republicans will join Americans from the trucking industry to call yet again on Democrats seriously address the need for a balanced energy plan that would cut the cost of fuel. In a visit to an electric company in Ohio yesterday, President Bush again called on Congress to lift the ban on new offshore oil drilling and on exploring oil shale in the West. It’s long past time for Democrats to allow a Congress to seriously address energy issues and stop playing games designed to stall and avoid votes.
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