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.”

At a House Natural Resources Committee hearing, Republicans warned of executive overreach; Democrats accused Interior of caving to industry pressure.

A bill viewed as a bellwether of the Senate’s appetite for passing energy-efficiency legislation breezed through the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday.

The bill (S.761), co-sponsored by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), passed the committee by a 19-3 vote. Republican Sens. Mike Lee (Utah), Tim Scott (S.C.) and Jeff Flake (Ariz.) opposed the measure.

But even the bipartisan endorsement for the bill might not be enough to get it to the floor. A similar version last year fell victim to a disagreement between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) regarding amendments.

Former Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), who led the House subcommittee that oversaw Environmental Protection Agency and Interior Department funding, has joined the prominent law firm and lobby shop Van Ness Feldman.

Van Ness Feldman focuses heavily on energy and natural resource clients, and Dicks will joint the firm as a senior policy counsel, working out of both Washington, D.C., and Seattle.

Dicks didn’t run for reelection last year after 36 years in Congress.