WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) today issued the following statement on Sen. Harry Reid’s refusal Monday to block bipartisan debate on energy efficiency legislation and disallow relevant energy-related amendments from Republicans:

“I was greatly disappointed in the majority leader’s refusal to allow an open debate in the Senate on energy policy – something it hasn’t done in seven years. We used to hold hundreds of votes on amendments. Now it’s all politics all the time.

“Sen. Reid’s decision to deny Republicans the ability to offer a handful of energy-related amendments was a sad milestone in the downward spiral of the Senate, but it doesn’t mean we can’t have a vote on the Keystone XL pipeline. There is nothing stopping the majority leader from bringing up a binding vote on Keystone XL or any other priority.”

Murkowski, the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, missed Monday’s vote due to district commitments. She was supportive of Republicans’ attempts to negotiate an amendment agreement from the beginning.

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