WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans yesterday abruptly dropped a bid to force immediate action on President Bush’s energy proposals and anti-cloning legislation, choosing to postpone a showdown rather than invite defeat in the opening skirmish, the Washington Post reports.
After a day-long debate that focused mainly on GOP proposals to allow drilling for oil and gas in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Republicans did a procedural pirouette and decided to vote with the Democrats against limiting debate on their proposals. The move to curtail debate was defeated, 94 to 1, with only Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) dissenting.
Sen. Frank H. Murkowski (Alaska), ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and a champion of the Alaska drilling proposal, said he and others may offer the energy proposal on other legislation this year. Others said it is not likely to come up in a serious way until next year.
Under an unusual arrangement, the energy and anti-cloning proposals were combined in a single amendment that Republicans proposed to add to a widely supported bill to overhaul the railroad retirement system. The vote came on a procedural motion to break Democrats’ efforts to stall action on the amendment. It would have taken 60 votes for the Republicans to prevail, and they clearly did not have enough votes.
The outcome represented a victory for Democrats, who, with their one-vote margin of control in the chamber, often find it easier to block Republican initiatives than to pass their own, especially on major issues requiring 60 votes. Democrats locked in their victory in a subsequent vote that had the effect of barring further consideration of energy, cloning and other unrelated subjects in connection with the railroad retirement measure. The vote on that proposal was 81 to 15.
Shortly before the votes, Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) renewed his earlier assurances that the Senate will consider both energy and cloning early next year, although Republicans continued to complain that Daschle reserves the right to invoke rules requiring 60 votes for passage.
The energy proposal would have expanded the railroad retirement measure to include key elements of energy legislation passed by the House.
They include an array of production incentives and conservation proposals, along with a provision that would allow drilling in the Alaska refuge.
Proponents of the measure argued that it was essential for national security. Opponents contended it would irreparably harm a pristine environment.
The anti-cloning proposal would have imposed a moratorium for six months on all cloning to allow time for consideration of broader legislation on the subject.
The retirement bill would allow the rail industry’s pension fund to be invested in the stock market as well as in government bonds.
The GOP’s effort to force action on energy followed months of shadow-boxing over the issue, as Republicans pushed for a vote on Bush’s plan to spur production and Democrats argued for additional time to develop an alternative that would rely more on conservation and development of alternative forms of energy.
They plan to introduce their proposal shortly and schedule it for consideration after Congress returns in January.
Anti-cloning legislation passed the House but has languished in the Senate. It got new momentum last month when a Massachusetts company announced that it had cloned a human embryo, prompting Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) to move for a moratorium.
After Democrats blocked him from bringing it up last week, Brownback offered it as an amendment to the railroad retirement bill.