The Senate voted against ending debate on a comprehensive energy bill Thursday, forcing negotiations on a $600 million aid package to help Flint, Mich., face down a massive lead water contamination crisis.
The Senate bid to end debate and move to a full Senate vote on the Energy Policy Modernization Act failed 54-43.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said negotiations over Flint will continue over the weekend, with another vote on Monday.
The bill would expedite natural gas export licenses, create public-private partnerhships to protect the power grid from cyber attack, and increase research and development across vehicle and other technologies. It also would repeal aspects of energy policy that Republicans, and some Democrats, have targeted, such as a mandate to phase out the use of fossil fuels in federal buildings.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced a compromise amendment Thursday to “expedite” funding to aid the Flint water crisis, while facing stiff opposition from her party over providing new money.
But the Michigan delegation, led by Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, rejected her proposal, which would advance a $550 million aid package and begin allocating the funds in small bits starting at $50 million.
Stabenow said she didn’t find that fair to the chidren of Flint.
Murkowski’s compromise also faced stiff opposition on the floor of the Senate from her party. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, questioned why money should be granted when Michigan has no plan to use it. He suggested the aid package be considered through the appropriations process and not through the energy bill.
