Senate Blocks House-Passed Energy Bill

U.S. Senate Democrats couldn’t end debate Friday on a House-passed energy bill, setting up a possible vote later in the day on a new, stripped-down version.

The 53-42 vote to close debate fell seven votes shy of the 60 votes needed to permit a vote on the House bill’s passage. Now senators may consider a version without a provision that would require electric utilities to use renewable energy for 15 percent of their power generation, the Washington Post reported Friday.

The House, ignoring a veto threat from President George Bush, on Thursday passed an energy bill that would have raised automobile fuel-efficiency standards and would have required increased use of renewable energy sources to generate electricity. It would generate $21 billion in revenue over 10 years, largely through altering tax provisions for the nation’s biggest oil companies.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., expressing disappointment at the Senate action, pledged to work with the Senate to pass a strong energy bill and send it to the President’s desk for his signature.