No vote on amendment to block EPA climate rules Wednesday

There will be no vote Wednesday on an amendment to a Senate small business bill that would block Environmental Protection Agency climate regulations.

Though Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday he would allow a vote on the measure, it appears that lawmakers have not been able to agree on the timing.

The amendment, offered by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), would permanently block EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources like power plants and refineries.

The amendment language mirrors a bill offered by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.).

Supporters of the amendments have said that Democrats are pushing back the vote because they fear it could get significant support, noting that the amendment was headed for a vote Tuesday. While the bill faces an uphill battle to the 60-vote threshold, a vote with majority support could be politically embarrassing for Democratic leadership.

"Turns out our Democrat friends have decided (just as they did last night) that there will be no vote today on the McConnell EPA amendment," McConnell's spokesman said in an email to reporters.

Earlier Wednesday Inhofe pledged to continue attaching his bill to amendments until he gets a vote.