Energy and Climate Debate -

The bipartisan Senate energy bill is on hold, following a disagreement over federal aid to address the Flint, Michigan, water crisis. In the meantime, President Obama released his fiscal year 2017 budget request February 9 and the Supreme Court stayed the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan the same day.

The Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015 (S. 2012), which cleared, 18-4, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last summer, includes, among other things, language to increase energy efficiency, renewable energy, energy infrastructure, and grid security, as well as to impose deadlines on the Department of Energy to make final decisions on natural gas exports, permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and expedite the licensing process for hydropower projects.