WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., late Wednesday formally moved for the second time to try to get around Republican opposition to a wide-ranging energy bill, but the fate of his effort hangs in doubt amid threats of a White House veto and resistance from a number of lawmakers.
Reid announced plans to hold a vote Thursday morning on proceeding to a revised energy bill, but Democratic leaders need 60 votes in order to limit debate and move to a final vote on the energy bill. Even after last-minute changes aimed at drawing support, some lawmakers have yet to commit either way.
"It's a very close call," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-NM. the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, who plans to vote against proceeding to the bill because he opposes measures that would raise $21.8 billion in taxes. "Even if we lose, we win," he said, noting that President George W. Bush will veto the bill.
The Senate convenes at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday and holds its first vote at 9:15 a.m. Eastern time. It was expected to vote on whether to proceed to the energy bill shortly after.
The uncertainty about the energy bill comes after Senate Democrats unveiled a new version of the energy bill that shortens to two years tax incentives for renewable-energy investments such as wind-power projects, and allows companies to expense refineries that generate fuel from shale and tar sands.
"I probably will vote for it," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who last week had voted against proceeding to the energy bill. In 2005, Hatch introduced legislation to encourage development of fuel from tar sands and oil shale. Hatch also noted his support for hybrid vehicles, which would get a boost from a provision giving a credit of as much as $2,500 for the cost of purchasing a battery to convert a hybrid vehicle to a plug-in hybrid vehicle.
Democrats can also very likely count on Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, who also had previously voted against proceeding to the energy bill. Earlier on Wednesday, Grassley joined Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., in support of a modified energy tax package. But there are other holdouts, such as Sen. Mary Landrieu., D-La.
Asked whether she would vote for the bill, Landrieu said that she hadn't decided yet. She had voted against an energy bill that passed the Senate in June. "It's going to be very close and I doubt that it will" win enough votes for the Senate to get around a procedural hurdle and move to a vote on the energy bill. "I do think that there's a compromise in reach, but it doesn't seem like either side is reaching too much."
Other changes seemed to do little to win votes, such as a measure to add new safety standards for pool and spa drains, something that has gained attention on Capitol Hill after former Secretary of State James Baker's granddaughter died in a hot-tub accident. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., who is a co-sponsor of spa legislation, said he plans to vote against proceeding to a vote on the energy bill, citing concerns about its taxes.
Democratic Senators who are running for president are expected at a debate in Iowa in the afternoon, and are expected to appear for the vote. Last week, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, along with Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., and Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., flew in from the campaign trail to vote in favor of moving ahead on the energy bill, but Senate Democrats fell seven votes short of the number they needed