The prospects of passing the Senate version of the legislation are complicated by several factors, including significantly, the upcoming midterm elections. After passing the House bill, Reps. Gardner and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), challengers to incumbent Democratic Sens. Mark Udall (CO) and Mary Landrieu (LA), respectively, issued statements pressuring their opponents, claiming that “[r]elying on their supposed clout, Senators Udall and Landrieu shouldn’t have any trouble convincing Harry Reid to hold a vote, especially considering our legislation received the support of House Democratic leadership.” The Wall Street Journal reports that the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which Sen. Landrieu chairs, plans to vote on the bill introduced by Sen. Udall, S. 2494, the Natural Gas Promotion Act of 2014, although the exact date of such a vote has not been set.
Concerns over the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Ukraine’s dependence on Russian natural gas in part motivated the LNG export bills in both chambers; however, some political commentators have argued that these issues have not received the same peak levels of media attention as several months ago. Thus, the sense of political urgency may weaken.
