E2-Wire

A natural-gas van company awarded a $50 million Energy Department (DOE) loan has suspended operations and laid off roughly 100 workers, according to press accounts.

The closure of Vehicle Production Group (VPG), which builds wheelchair-accessible vans powered by natural gas, will likely increase Republican criticism of Energy loan programs that are already facing heavy Capitol Hill scrutiny.

Former CEO John Walsh told The Detroit Free Press that the Michigan-based company’s owners are negotiating a sale. “The people who are interested are close to the company and current partners,” he told the paper.

VPG’s woes arrive as plug-in hybrid maker Fisker Automotive, which was also supported by the department’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program, has collapsed and teeters on bankruptcy.

Sen. Barbara Boxer blasted Republicans for preventing a vote on Gina McCarthy, President Obama’s nominee to lead the EPA.

Republicans on the Environment panel say Obama nominee McCarthy hasn't answered their questions.

Bloomberg explains what President Obama and utility industry officials talked about Wednesday. Read more...

The Senate agreed to five more amendments to the water infrastructure bill by unanimous consent on Wednesday evening.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced one of the amendments, which would give communities with populations smaller than 25,000 people additional help in developing rural water infrastructure projects.

ON TAP THURSDAY: The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is scheduled to vote Thursday morning on Gina McCarthy, President Obama’s choice to run the Environmental Protection Agency.

McCarthy, who is currently the EPA’s top air quality official, is unlikely to get much GOP support — she has attracted much more resistance than other members of Obama’s second-term green team.

A lingering question Wednesday evening is whether committee Republicans, who say they haven’t gotten sufficient answers to their many questions, will seek to postpone the vote.

Several committee Republicans met in the Capitol early Wednesday evening.

Sens. David Vitter (R-La.), who is the panel’s ranking member, Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) were the lawmakers E2-Wire spotted.

Lawmakers said little after the meeting. But another committee Republican, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), said there might be a GOP request to postpone the vote. “I think there will be, yeah,” Inhofe said.
Read more...

The Senate approved a bipartisan amendment to the water infrastructure bill that would combat the spread of Asian carp into U.S. waters.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) introduced the amendment along with Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.). The amendment was approved on a 95-0 vote on Wednesday.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla) said Environment and Public Works Committee Republicans may seek to postpone Thursday morning’s committee vote on Gina McCarthy, the White House nominee to run the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Inhofe said several committee Republicans will meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) also said the meeting was occurring Wednesday.

Asked in the Capitol if Republicans would ask the panel’s Democratic leadership to delay the vote, Inhofe replied, “I can’t tell you that. Ask me at 5 o’clock.”

The first GOP amendment voted on for the Senate’s water infrastructure bill was about gun rights.

The Senate is considering the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which would authorize projects related to flood and storm risk reduction, coast and inland navigation, and ecosystem restoration.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) introduced an amendment to the bill dealing with gun use on Army Corp of Engineer’s land.

Coburn’s amendment failed on a 56-43 vote Wednesday — 60 votes were needed for passage. It would have allowed individuals to carry guns at water resources development projects administered by the Secretary of the Army.

The confirmation process for Energy Department (DOE) Secretary nominee Ernest Moniz has gone on long enough, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told reporters Wednesday.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has stalled the confirmation through a procedural hold. He and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) have concerns about a DOE-managed nuclear fuel project in their state.

Wyden said he and the committee's ranking member, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), have "talked to both senators a number of times, and we’ll continue to do it. I think it’s time to vote.”