Friday, April 30, 2004

Bid to Revive Energy Legislation Via Unrelated Bill Fails in Senate

By Helen Dewar
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 30, 2004; Page A04

The Senate yesterday derailed efforts to revive long-stalled energy legislation, further dimming the prospects for approval this year of a broad initiative to expand energy production, encourage conservation and streamline the nation's overburdened electricity grid.

In back-to-back votes, the Senate fell short of the 60 votes needed to pass either ethanol-production incentives or a much broader, 900-page package of energy proposals as part of an unrelated bill to extend an expired ban on Internet access taxes.

It also voted to impose limits on other amendments to the Internet tax bill, effectively blocking Democrats, led by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (Mass.), from trying to add a proposal to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7 an hour over the...(Full Story)

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