Senate Approps Committee Markup of FY 2015 E&W Bill Postponed

The Senate Appropriations Committee markup of the Fiscal Year 2015 Energy and Water Appropriations Act scheduled for this morning was cancelled last night due to a disagreement between Democrats and Republicans over a controversial amendment that would scuttle new carbon emissions regulations on power plants. The Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee cleared its version of the bill Tuesday, outlining funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, but committee chairwoman Sen. Barbara Mikulski postponed the full committee markup scheduled for this morning at 10:30 a.m. The problem, according to Congressional aides, is that an amendment drafted by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that would aim to thwart new Environmental Protection Agency regulations aimed at reducing carbon emissions from coal plants had garnered some support from Democrats and had a chance of passing. It’s unclear when the markup will be rescheduled.