Business and Environmental Lobbyists Rush to Capitol Amid Concern for Proposed Energy Bill Following Gulf Oil Spill

Energy reform advocates scrambled yesterday to rescue the bill that's been slogging its way through the Senate, but the Gulf oil spill appears to be the final, ironic nail in its coffin, Politico reports.

Republicans will only vote for the bill if it includes an expansion of oil drilling, something that now looks, according to one Democrat, “almost both unconscionable and impossible.”

Frank O’Donnell, head of the environmental group Clean Air Watch, said some green groups feel “sick to their stomachs” that Congress probably won’t be able to pass a climate change bill this session — given that Democrats are almost certainly set to hold a smaller majority after the November elections.