The Senate on Tuesday will hold a procedural vote on an amendment that would eliminate about $6 billion in tax credits provided annually to subsidize blenders of ethanol.

The vote comes after the amendment’s sponsor, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), presented 16 signatures from other senators to the Senate clerk Thursday and demanded that a vote to limit debate be placed on the schedule.

Coburn has been pushing for a vote on the amendment throughout the year, selling it as an important step toward slashing out-of-control government spending.

The Senate made some progress on the pending Economic Development Revitalization Act on Thursday when it held a vote on a controversial amendment demanded by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), but major hurdles remain for the legislation in the form of at least 44 further amendments senators want tacked on to the bill.

The Senate remained dormant for much of Thursday evening as senators worked behind the scenes on how to move forward on the bill. This process mostly involves deciding which amendments to consider, and how long to consider them.

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) this week introduced legislation that proposes a $100 million per year grant program that would help schools build up more capacity to teach English.

The English Learning and Innovation Act, S. 1158, would establish this program for six years, and would require the Secretary of Education to prioritize rural areas and schools that have had difficulty getting students to a level of English proficiency. Bennet said it is needed because of the growing number of "English learners" in U.S. public schools.

"School districts in rural, urban and suburban communities across the country have large and growing English learner populations," he said. "The English Learning and Innovation Act will help school districts develop successful methods to close the achievement gap and better prepare all students for success in college and the 21st century job market."

The Senate on Thursday voted down an amendment that would have required federal agencies to carefully assess the impact of proposed regulations on small businesses.

The vote was 53 for the amendment and 46 opposed. The measure needed 60 votes to pass. Six Democrats crossed the aisle to vote with Republicans.

The vote on the amendment, which was sponsored by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), came after several hours of fiercely partisan debate on the Senate floor.

Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) next week will be appointed as the next Ways and Means Committee member. Reed will be the only New York Republican on the committee and will join Democratic New Yorkers Charles Rangel and Joseph Crowley.

Reed will replace Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), who was appointed to the Senate after Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) resigned earlier this year under the pressure of a Senate Ethics Committee investigation. The committee was looking into ethics violations stemming from Ensign's affair with the wife of a former staffer.

House Republicans are expected to ratify the decision to add Reed to the committee on Tuesday.

Bipartisan resolution states it is "contrary to U.S. policy and our national security" to return Israel to 1967 borders.

A controversial amendment offered by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) that would require federal agencies to carefully assess the impact of proposed regulations on small businesses will see a vote at 2:15 p.m. Thursday.

The scheduled vote represents a breakthrough in negotiations on amendments to the Economic Development Revitalization Act of 2011 (S. 782). 

Earlier Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had complained that Snowe was not cooperating in bringing about a procedural resolution on her amendment

Senate Republicans are looking to follow the lead of their House counterparts and hold a vote on raising the debt limit while imposing no limits on future spending.

The so-called "clean" debt-limit increase is seen as a way to put pressure on Democrats to cede to Republican cuts because the vote doesn't include a commitment to curb government spending.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is leading the move, offering it as an amendment to the Economic Development Revitalization Act. The Senate could vote on it as early as Thursday.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday said that while President Obama talks about the need to create jobs, his policy decisions in three key areas go against his rhetoric.

"The fact is, many Americans have a hard time believing the president is focused on jobs when so many of his policies seem to be designed to destroy them," McConnell said on the Senate floor.