Reid Pulls Plug on Spill Bill

Dems were dealt a legislative blow Tuesday when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) called off a package of offshore-drilling reforms after it was clear Democrats didn’t have the votes—which means a response won’t take place until September. The most central part of the bill, a move to get rid of the $75 million liability cap on damages oil companies are forced to pay in the aftermath of spills and other disasters, caused the most concern among senators. “We tried jujitsu, we tried yoga, we tried everything we could to get Republicans to come along,” Reid said. Environmentalists, meanwhile, railed against the lawmakers for failing to act. “It’s shameful that more than 40 senators are such slaves to Big Oil that they want taxpayers—and not BP—to be liable for cleanup costs from this disaster and future blowouts,” Dan Weiss, director of the climate strategy for the Center on American Progress said. Alas, the bill—at least for now—was not to be.