Momentum Waning for Bipartisan Energy Action
By Ed Felker, CQ Roll Call.
Republicans in the House and Senate have succeeded in pushing bills to overhaul the nation’s energy laws through two committees, setting up potential floor votes in their drive to revamp energy policy for the first time since 2007.
Yet serious divides have appeared among the bipartisan group of lawmakers who came together to draft the House bill, lowering the odds that the Republican-led 114th Congress will craft legislation that President Barack Obama would be willing to sign into law.
Such an outcome would extend the partisan standoff that pits fossil fuel advocates in the GOP, who want to spur more oil and gas production, against Democrats who agree with the president that any major legislation must address climate change.