The Senate late Monday dropped efforts to pass energy legislation this year after Republican leaders failed repeatedly to find the two additional votes needed to push the bill through Congress.
Top GOP senators could not produce the additional votes among farm-state Democrats, while House Republican leaders balked at a change in the bill that would have removed a provision protecting makers of a gasoline additive, MTBE, from pollution lawsuits.
The MTBE liability shield had been at the heart of widespread Senate opposition to the $31 billion energy legislation, which included hundreds of provisions to boost and diversify energy production. The House easily passed the bill.
Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) concluded that there was not enough time before the Senate was to begin its holiday recess to find a compromise that would be acceptable to the House and overcome a Democrat-led filibuster in the Senate.
Bush administration officials said the White House was ready to push for the legislation in January, confident that GOP leaders will get the support needed to pass the bill by then.
The House passed the sweeping energy bill Nov. 18, but when it came to the Senate, a coalition of Democrats and Republicans, for different reasons, joined in blocking further action.
An attempt Friday to shut off debate and bring the measure up for a final vote fell two senators short of the 60 needed.
![Four years into cannabis legalization in Illinois, celebrations of the April 20 informal weed holiday known as 420 are getting bigger and more widespread. Named for the time of day a group of friends met to get high, 420 has become a chance for marijuana users to publicly share a previously illegal drug and the counter-cultural atmosphere surrounding it. The main event in downtown Chicago likely will be the second annual 420 Sesh Fest, at Green Rose Dispensary. The party will include live music, a magic show, carnival games, food trucks, pop ups, and product discounts. It also will feature Grammy-nominated […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ctc-l-Illinois-marijuana_175925141.jpg?w=546 "Four years into cannabis legalization in Illinois, celebrations of the April 20 informal weed holiday known as 420 are getting bigger and more widespread. Named for the time of day a group of friends met to get high, 420 has become a chance for marijuana users to publicly share a previously illegal drug and the counter-cultural atmosphere surrounding it. The main event in downtown Chicago likely will be the second annual 420 Sesh Fest, at Green Rose Dispensary. The party will include live music, a magic show, carnival games, food trucks, pop ups, and product discounts. It also will feature Grammy-nominated […]")