Senate Democrats Block Energy Bill in Impasse Over Flint

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., second from left, accompanied by, from left, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., discusses proposed legislation to help Flint, Mich. with their current water crisis, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked a comprehensive energy bill after majority Republicans balked over hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency federal aid to Flint, Michigan, to fix and replace the city’s lead-contaminated pipes.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said that “100,000 people in Flint, Michigan, have been poisoned, and Republicans do nothing” to help them. “Nine thousand little children ... have been poisoned. Still, Senate Republicans refuse to help.”

The vote was 46-50, short of a number necessary to move ahead on the bipartisan legislation, the first such bill in nine years.

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The Democratic proposal also requires federal action if a state refuses to warn the public about unsafe water and authorizes $200 million over 10 years to monitor lead exposure in Flint.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said discussions on ways to help Flint were continuing.

“We want to get this solved,” she said, adding that it was counterproductive for Democrats to block an energy bill that has been in the works for more than a year.