Senators talk, do nothing about high gasoline prices

WASHINGTON -- The Senate last week debated two responses to rising gasoline prices and rejected both.

Democrats and Republicans presented energy-related bills. But both failed to gain sufficient bipartisan support, and the votes served more to sharpen the differences between the parties on the topic.

Charging that major oil companies were making record profits from motorists paying $4-a-gallon gas, Democrats proposed eliminating certain tax breaks for the five biggest oil firms, Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips and Chevron.

Democrats say savings of $21 billion over 10 years would be applied to reduce the federal budget deficit.

Republicans charged the Democratic bill amounted to a tax increase that would do nothing to bring down gasoline prices.

The vote was 52-48, eight short of the 60 needed to move it forward.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., voted to eliminate the tax breaks. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., voted to keep them.

Republicans proposed a bill that would have set deadlines for the Interior Department to act on applications for permits to drill for oil offshore.

The bill also would have extended leases that were set aside by a moratorium the Obama administration put in place following the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year.

Republicans argued that increases in U.S. oil production would bring down prices at gasoline pumps. Democrats countered the impact would be insignificant but that setting strict deadlines for permit approvals would risk more accidents offshore.

The Republican bill also lost support from some senators because it did not include revenue sharing for states.

The vote on the GOP measure was 42-57, well short of the 60 that was needed. Heller voted for the bill. Reid voted against it.

Judicial nominee blocked

Republicans blocked confirmation for Goodwin Liu, President Barack Obama's choice to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which encompasses nine Western states, including Nevada, and the Pacific territories.

The vote was 52-43, eight short of the 60 needed to end a GOP filibuster of Liu, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

Republicans argued that Liu's writings suggest he would be an "activist judge" who would seek to rewrite laws passed by Congress. Democrats said Liu was well within the mainstream and had been endorsed by prominent conservatives.

Reid voted for Liu. Heller voted against him.

The House was in recess last week.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.