Reid sets up energy efficiency vote

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) set up procedural votes on an energy efficiency bill for next week.

On Thursday, Reid filed a motion to end debate on the motion to proceed to S. 2262.

{mosads}Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) have been working for years to get an up-or-down vote on their bill, which contains measures to boost building codes, train workers in energy efficient building technologies, help manufacturers become more efficient and bolster conservation efforts at federal agencies, among other provisions.

Although the vote could occur on Monday under Senate rules, it is more likely to take place Tuesday.

In September, senators started working on the bill, but Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) refused to allow any other amendments to be considered until he got a vote on a measure dealing with ObamaCare.

Vitter said Thursday that he wouldn’t push his ObamaCare measure if Reid agreed to hold a binding vote on an amendment that would authorize the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport oil from Canadian tar sands to refineries in the United States along the Gulf Coast.

Fifty-six senators are cosponsoring the bipartisan Keystone bill, but if Reid allows a vote on the measure it will likely be held to a 60-vote threshold.