Senate Dem to reintroduce bill with new name after ‘My Little Pony’ confusion

Sen. Christopher Coons (D-Del.) will rename a bill he co-sponsored in 2017 after its original title was mistaken for a reference to the TV series “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.”

“We had a small My Little Pony mixup last year, so we’ve renamed our bipartisan bill (which we’re reintroducing today) that will help finance our clean energy future,” Coons tweeted Thursday.

We had a small My Little Pony mixup last year, so we’ve renamed our bipartisan bill (which we’re reintroducing today) that will help finance our clean energy future. #MLP #JKhttps://t.co/WgLi4Kny4P

— Senator Chris Coons (@ChrisCoons) June 13, 2019

In 2017, Coons tweeted that he was “proud to introduce the #MLP Parity Act,” with the acronym referring to master limited partnerships.

Proud to introduce the #MLP Parity Act w/ @JerryMoran @JudgeTedPoe & @RepThompson: https://t.co/KkhhRKNPgq

— Senator Chris Coons (@ChrisCoons) October 25, 2017

However, the acronym “MLP” has also been associated with the animated series, which, in addition to children, has a fanbase of men colloquially called “Bronies.”{mosads}

“I’m not sure about My Little Pony, but I can tell you for sure that Sen. Coons is a fan of, and more of an expert on, master limited partnerships,” Brian Cunningham, a spokesperson for Coons’s office, told USA Today.

The tweets under the hashtag overwhelmingly refer to the series rather than to master limited partnerships, a business structure that treats investors as partners for tax purposes but allows them to trade ownership stakes like stocks.

The partnerships currently are available primarily to oil and gas companies. The bill, which Coons co-sponsored in 2017 with Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) and former Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas), would extend them to renewable energy firms and energy-efficient buildings, according to USA Today.