Reid offers GOP anti-EPA vote for a price

President Obama’s signature climate rule took center stage during debate on the Senate floor Monday over how to proceed on next year’s appropriations package.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he would allow a vote on a measure that seeks to block the administration’s latest climate change rule if Democratic legislation is also passed.

{mosads}The amendment, pushed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), would require that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ensures the new rules would not result in job losses or high electricity bills.

The measure has stalled consideration of the fiscal 2015 appropriations package, and forced Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee to pull an energy and water spending bill last week.

“Why don’t we have … a majority vote on those and on your EPA amendment? It’s only fair that bills blocked by the McConnell rule be granted the same treatment as the Republican leader’s own legislation,” Reid said on the Senate floor Monday. “To do otherwise would be unjust to the many senators who introduced legislation important to American families.”

Reid said he would allow a 51-vote threshold for the vote against the EPA rules if Republicans agree to not filibuster roughly six bills that are important to Democrats.

McConnell and Republicans have assailed the administration’s climate proposal, which mandates states reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants 30 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels.

GOP senators are claim the rules will kill coal mining jobs and hurt the economy.

McConnell has also made what he calls President Obama’s “war on coal” a major part of his reelection campaign against Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes.

Read more about the Senate debate here.