No question, the U.S. Senate has been a disappointment this year when it comes to the environment and energy.

Sen. Harry Reid blamed Republicans for the bill's collapse, but members of his own party did not support the bill.In the latest setback, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Tuesday he could not muster the 60 votes needed to pass a slimmed down energy bill focused on offshore energy exploration.

The Nevada Democrat said he would keep trying to garner some Republican votes, and hoped to pass a bill by year-end, renewing efforts after the summer recess, which begins Friday.

Reid had planned to hold debate this week on Democratic and Republican bills responding to the BP Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  The Democratic version would raise the oil spill liability cap to at least $10 billion from its present ceiling of $75 million.  It would also increase investment in vehicles powered by natural gas and electricity. It  would allocate about $900 million to increase energy efficiency of homes and for land and water conservation. Increased taxes on the oil and gas industry may be considered as a funding source for these measures.

Republicans, in turn, offered a proposal that would, among other things,  lift the moratorium on deepwater drilling that the Obama Administration wants, provided the wells meet certain requirements and pass safety inspections.  It also would permit states to share in royalty revenues.