A bi-partisan bill that is a major policy priority for Senator Jeanne Shaheen has easily cleared a procedural vote in the US senate. 79 Senators voted in favor of starting debate on the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act, which would ramp up incentives for federal and private spending on energy efficiency measures.
Shaheen is co-sponsoring the bill with Republican Senator Rob Portman from Ohio.
The bill has advanced to the floor on two other occasions, but twice failed to gather the sixty votes needed to be sent to the US House. On previous attempts, progress on the Shaheen-Portman Bill was stopped when Republicans asked for amendments that would defundObamacare or authorize the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Shaheen’s staff says discussions of whether to allow votes on additional amendments this time are ongoing.