Pressure pushes Senate Democrats to energy debate

- Under pressure from Senate Republicans to agree to a finite list of energy amendments, the Senate Democratic leadership has pushed for a shotgun start to the energy debate.

In separate statements, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle and Minority Whip Harry Reid called on the GOP leadership to bring the S. 14 energy bill to the floor late this week rather than early next. Daschle and Reid urged the early start to begin work on a list of amendments that by some accounts now exceeds 400.

"We are pushing hard for this week," an aide to Reid said, "but it may not start until next week. We'll know [today]."

The Democrats maintain Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is unwisely trying to pack a complicated debate into one short week before the August recess. The most time-consuming issues are still on the board, they say, making final passage after four or five days of debate on climate change, electricity and taxes, among other issues, unlikely.

A spokesman for Senate Energy Committee ranking member Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) said Daschle was "pretty much making a rhetorical point" about how hard it will be to finish the energy bill before the recess. "It will be pretty daunting to try to get all this stuff done in one week," the spokesman said.

But Frist is still angling for a unanimous consent (UC) agreement on energy amendments before going to the floor, fearing an open-ended debate would extend well into the recess and endanger the bill's success. Democrats yesterday continued to resist a UC deal, leaving the amendment picture unclear.

In a floor statement, Frist again urged Democrats to accept a proposal to file all amendments with the Senate clerk by today in preparation for debate the week of July 28. Though Republicans will go back to the floor with the energy bill with or without the agreement, aides acknowledged the UC will greatly expedite the debate and help Frist manage floor time.

Frist also cited high natural gas prices in justifying the need for an energy policy, saying the supply crunch has threatened the U.S. economy.

Democrats have shot back that too little time has been spent on a long list of amendments to the comprehensive energy bill, many of which were declared, but not completed, on a finite list submitted to the Republican cloakroom last month. "We can only do so much," Reid said last week. "It's going to be a heavy task to get through this in a week."