Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) plan to reintroduce their energy legislation tomorrow, Thursday, February 27th. The legislation addresses updating building codes, energy training programs, as well as building efficiency. Along with the legislation, will be 10 new amendments which mostly have at least one Republican co-sponsor. With the amendments there is a positive feeling that the bill will have more than 60 votes that would end any chance of a filibuster.
As you may recall the bill was on the Senate floor last September, until the battle over delaying Obamacare led into the shutdown of the federal government, stalling the energy bill again. Hurdles for a final passage remain, as some Republicans want additional individual votes on the bill, while other groups have started to waiver on their support (as an example, the Sierra Club is waiting giving a confirmation of its endorsement until they see what the amended bill looks like) should certain amendments be approved. One amendment that is bound to receive some debate, will be one sponsored by Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Joe Hoeven (R-N.D.), that will allow federal buildings to continue using fossil fuels for electricity and to heat and cool their buildings.
For more information on the new amendments visit: http://www.eenews.net/assets/2014/02/26/document_daily_03.pdf
To read the bill in it’s entirety: http://www.shaheen.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Shaheen-Portman%20Introduced%20Version.pdf