Democratic leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee this month cancelled a scheduled markup of that chamber’s FY15 Energy and Water spending bill – reportedly to prevent Republicans from offering amendments targeting several Obama Administration initiatives. The move threw the status of the Energy and Water appropriations bill into question, and could preview the difficult road through Congress that faces spending legislation for the EPA.
Senate appropriators had been scheduled to consider the FY15 Energy and Water spending bill – which includes funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – on June 19. Committee Republicans had been planning to offer amendments to defund Obama’s pending rule on the scope of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act and proposals to respond to global climate change. But on the eve of the markup it became apparent that several Democrats facing tough reelection races this fall might back these Republican amendments. Rather than accepting this outcome and dealing a blow to the Administration initiatives, reports say, Democratic leaders simply cancelled the markup.
The move leaves the Senate’s Energy and Water bill in a state of limbo, but it also raises serious questions about whether the chamber will consider an Interior and Environment spending bill this summer. The Interior and Environment legislation, which provides appropriations for EPA, is also likely to face GOP amendments that would bar EPA from spending money on the Clean Water Act rule as well as the Obama Administration’s recent proposal to reduce carbon emissions from power plants. If Senate Democratic leaders believe they lack the votes to block these amendments, they may choose to avoid debating the EPA spending bill altogether.
The picture is slightly more clear in the GOP-controlled House, where on June 18 that chamber’s Appropriations Committee approved its own FY15 Energy and Water spending bill with language to permanently block the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from taking steps to “develop, adopt, implement, administer, or enforce” Obama’s Clean Water Act rule. Though House Republicans have not yet unveiled their FY15 Interior and Environment spending bill, the measure is widely expected to include a similar provision to block EPA from spending any funds on the proposal.
While House Republicans likely have the votes to pass both bills – along with the Clean Water Act rule defunding language – it will set up a stalemate with the Democratic Senate. With the November elections looming, leaders of both parties may simply decide to punt final action on the spending bills into next year – an outcome that would leave EPA appropriations uncertain for months beyond the October 1 start of the 2015 fiscal year.