Energy/Environment

Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) on Wednesday accused the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of exempting left-leaning political groups and green energy producers from various fees and fines that it routinely assesses to right-learning groups.

Whitfield, who chairs the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Energy & Power, called the EPA's actions a "pattern of conduct in which this administration rewards its friends and punishes its opponents."

The bill faces an uncertain future in the House, were lawmakers are concerned about the discretion it would give Obama.

The Senate advanced the water infrastructure bill Tuesday by voting on three more amendments.

On Wednesday, the Senate will resume amendment votes on the bill — there will be six more before final passage.

The Senate reached an agreement Tuesday to hold the final passage vote on a water infrastructure bill.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and ranking member David Vitter (R-La.) introduced the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). S. 601 would authorize Army Corp of Engineer projects related to flood and storm risk reduction, coast and inland navigation, and ecosystem restoration.

The Senate is slated to vote next week on Ernest Moniz, President Obama’s nominee to run the Energy Department.

Lawmakers reached an agreement Thursday to proceed with the vote on Moniz, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist who served as undersecretary of Energy in the Clinton administration. It will occur as early as Tuesday.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had been holding up a vote over his concerns about federal management of a program in his state to transform weapons-grade plutonium into fuel.

But the Senate’s “unanimous consent” agreement reached Thursday to allow the vote to proceed means Graham has lifted the procedural block on Moniz. Graham’s office did not comment Friday morning.

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.

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.

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.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) announced Wednesday that he would withdraw one of his amendments to the Senate water infrastructure bill.

Coburn had introduced an amendment that would have required federal studies on guns. That amendment was scheduled to get a vote at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said Friday that Congress should not spend less on food stamps in order to reduce the deficit through the farm bill.

“Families who are living in poverty, who are just trying to figure out how to keep the lights on and put food on the table — they did not spend this nation into debt,” Gillibrand said. “And we should not be trying to balance the budget on their backs.”