Senate Republicans last Thursday made good on their pledge to file most of the House comprehensive energy bill, H.R. 4, as an amendment to a pending railroad pension benefits measure, setting the stage for a potential floor fight over energy this week in the upper chamber.

Just one day after mapping out their game plan to attach H.R. 4 to any legislation that comes before the Senate, Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) and Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-AK) moved to submit the H.R. 4 amendment to the railroad retirement bill.

The H.R. 4 amendment includes the controversial provision that would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and natural gas exploration and production, but it excludes a $30 billion-plus tax provision for the energy industry because of potential problems involving budget offsets. The amendment also calls for a six-month moratorium on embryo cloning.

The Republican action came only days after Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said he wanted to defer debate on energy legislation until the Senate reconvenes in January, citing the backlog of other priority legislation that the Senate has to address before it adjourns for the year.

Murkowski said, however, a compromise was reached after a “day of intense discussions” Thursday during which Republicans removed their objections to a debate on the railroad retirement benefits bill, and Democrats agreed to proceed to a debate on the omnibus energy amendment.

Daschle quickly filed a motion for a cloture vote, which would require Senate Republicans and other supporters to muster 60 votes to end a filibuster so that the H.R. 4 amendment can proceed to the floor to be considered. Daschle has scheduled the cloture vote for 5 p.m. Monday. Democratic Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut have indicated they will filibuster any energy proposal that includes ANWR drilling.

Although the outcome of the vote on the amendment is uncertain, Murkowski believes Republicans have scored a major victory in just getting energy to the Senate floor for a debate in the remaining days of the legislative session. He conceded, however, that he is worried that the Senate leadership will use procedural moves to “sidetrack a clear final vote on ANWR.”

©Copyright 2001 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.