Last night the Senate voted 91-0 to end debate on a "motion to proceed" on the Energy Bill (yes, the Senate needed to vote on whether to stop debating if they should debate the Energy Bill...gotta love democracy!). With this procedural vote over, the energy bill debates will move forward as planned.
     "Lawmakers are lining up to offer amendments but it is not clear when votes could get rolling." (E&E Daily, subscription required) (my italics)
     Sen Bingaman's (D-N.M.) Renewable Energy amendment will likely come first in debate order.  We hear that Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) may propose an amendment that combines renewables and utility efficiency measures. We oppose this, as it would weaken each measure if taken alone.
     Finally, Sen. Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said on Friday that she would propose an amendment to establish a "Climate Registry" for nearly all US industry. This would require industries (including power plants) to report their carbon pollution. We support this. Why? Well, skeptic-in-chief Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) said this was a "first step" toward a cap-and-trade bill on carbon dioxide. Sen. Inhofe also said, "it will probably pass". (E&E Daily, subscription required)  Woohoo! He can deny the rising sea level, but he can't deny the changing tide....