The House on Friday voted down several proposals to significantly cut spending to the 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, including one amendment to cut another $1.5 billion from the bill.

The bill, H.R. 2354, already cuts about $1 billion from fiscal 2011 levels, and proposals to go beyond that were met with resistance from both Democrats and Republicans.

Freshman Republican Allen West (Fla.) described Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell's (Ky.) plan to raise the debt ceiling a "dog that don't hunt."

“That dog don’t hunt,” West said when asked about the proposal, according to Bloomberg News. "Seems like an acquiescence to me.”

McConnell’s proposal, which would give President Obama the power to raise the debt ceiling, has drawn fire from both sides of the aisle. 

“It seems to be a political document,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, (N.Y.), the Senate Democrats’ Policy Committee chairman, on Thursday. 

The House on Friday morning quickly approved language that would prohibit the use of funds in a 2012 spending bill from being used to implement federal light bulb standards.

The House on Thursday night took up an amendment from Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) to defund those standards. After what seemed like House acceptance of the amendment by voice vote, Burgess asked for a recorded vote.

Several senators on Thursday introduced legislation that would establish a five-year program offering federal grants to states that seek to improve environmental education.

The No Child Left Inside Act, S. 1372, does not specify how much money would be spent, and instead would authorize "such sums as may be necessary" to implement the program.

"Teaching children about the environment and giving them a hands-on opportunity to experience nature makes them smarter and healthier," said Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), one of the lead sponsors of the bill. "Environmental education should be an important part of the curriculum in our schools."

The House meets at 10 a.m. for legislative work, and is expected to finish the 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations Act.

Members face several votes today to more significantly cut the $30.6 billion bill funding the Department of Energy and other agencies. But based on prior votes, the House is expected to essentially maintain current funding in the bill, which is $1 billion lower than fiscal 2011 levels.

The House on Friday will face several chances to cut millions in spending under the 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations Act, although all indications point to the likelihood that members will vote against these measures.

The House has debated the spending bill, H.R. 2354, for much of the week, and has considered several amendments already that would cut spending more severely than the $1 billion in cuts presented in the bill. The House finished work on amendments at about 7:30 p.m. Thursday, and adjourned shortly thereafter.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) complained on Thursday that senators were showing up late to votes, and warned he would no longer continue to hold them open to accommodate stragglers regardless of party affiliation.

“I'm giving fair warning to everyone,” said Reid. "We've gotten very nonchalant about coming to vote." 

On Wednesday, however, Reid — along with most of the Senate Democratic leadership — showed up about 25 minutes late to a cloture vote on the Veterans Administration funding bill.

"It's not fair to everyone else who gets here on time," said Reid on Thursday. "So everyone is on notice, we're going to cut the votes off at 20 minutes. People come straggling in eight, 10 minutes late. That's not going to work anymore. It will affect Democrats and Republicans." 

The House appears likely on Friday to accept an amendment to the 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations Act that would deny funding for the implementation of funds to implement a 2007 law that Republicans say will ban incandescent light bulbs.

The House on Tuesday rejected a bill to repeal parts of the 2007 law that set bulb efficiency standards. However, a majority of members favored the bill by a 233-193 vote, and the only reason it failed is because a two-thirds majority was needed.

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) on Thursday said he opposes language in the 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations Act that requires the sale of $500 million worth of oil in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help fund other government spending.

Speaking on the House floor, McClintock said the inclusion of this language is a "scandal" that should be struck out of the bill, although he did not offer amendment language to the bill.

"There's a half a billion dollars going out of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, not to replenish the reserve but to fund additional spending in this budget," he said. "That is a scandal. It's time we put a stop to it."