The House agreed this afternoon to limit the number of remaining amendments to be debated for a pending energy-and-water development appropriations bill.

By unanimous consent, the House adopted an agreement to limit remaining debate to several dozen amendments. The debate had been proceeding under an open rule through which any member could seek to amend the bill, but this afternoon's agreement provides an endgame for debate on the measure.

The agreement lists more than 50 amendments that will be eligible for debate, and it was agreed to after members offered 10 amendments that are awaiting votes, which have been postponed until later this evening.

Among the amendments considered this afternoon were a measure from Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) to boost funds to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission aimed at resuming evaluation of the Yucca Mountain, Nev., nuclear waste facility (E&ENews PM, June 1).

The House also heard debate on an amendment from Reps. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) seeking to eliminate $100 million in funding for the U.S. Enrichment Corp. Markey last month participated in a failed effort to strip authorization for that funding from a defense bill (Greenwire, May 18).

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), who last week sought to eliminate the Department of Energy's renewable energy programs, followed up with an amendment aiming to eliminate the fossil fuel program and gut most of its nuclear energy spending. Both moves are expected to fail, although the conservative Heritage Action for America issued a "key vote alert" urging support for eliminating the fossil fuel spending to combat the perception that Republicans are in the pocket of Big Oil.

Among the amendments still pending under the agreement is a separate amendment from Burgess to continue preventing DOE from enforcing light bulb efficiency standards imposed by the 2007 energy bill.

Click here to see the agreement.