The U.S. Senate on Thursday failed to resolve a largely party-line dispute over an amendment to its fiscal 2017 energy and water spending bill, leaving it (and hundreds of millions of dollars proposed for federal fossil energy research and development) in limbo for the moment.
The $37.5 billion bill passed smoothly through the committee process, making it the first spending proposal to reach the Senate floor. Lawmakers had hoped to seal the deal with a vote this week.
At issue is an amendment from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) demanding that the Obama administration refrain from using any taxpayer dollars to fund U.S. purchases of heavy water from Iran. He submitted the amendment this week following reports that 32 tons of Iranian heavy water, with a purchase price of over $8 million, was headed to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory under the nuclear deal Washington and several partner governments signed with Tehran.
The Senate on Wednesday and Thursday could not get the necessary votes to end debate and move toward a vote on the spending legislation. It will next consider the bill upon returning to Washington on Monday, May 9.
Senators over both days debated the merits of the Cotton amendment, along with the value of approving a bill certain to be vetoed if it reaches the White House with the measure.
“My plea to my friends on the Democratic side, as well as the Republican side, is let’s don’t let the White House lead us around by the nose and tell us we can’t consider a bill just because there’s a veto threat,” Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said Thursday in a floor speech.
The E&W funding bill would provide $632 million for fossil energy R&D, $32 million more than sought by the Energy Department. That would include $377 million for DOE Office of Fossil Energy carbon capture and storage and advanced power systems programs. Within that amount is $101 million for carbon capture, $8.2 million under the DOE request, and $106 million for carbon storage, $15.1 million above the administration proposal.
The Senate has also rejected a DOE plan to eliminate the separation of natural gas and coal in the fossil fuel budget structure.
The House Appropriations Committee approved its $37.4 billion version of the spending bill on April 19, but a floor debate has not been scheduled.
The lower chamber’s legislation would provide $645 million for DOE fossil energy R&D, with $442 million targeted for coal CCS and advanced power systems programs. That would encompass $109.2 million for carbon capture activities and about $86 million for carbon storage.