Senate leaders decided Tuesday to put off until this fall votes on energy legislation, including strong provisions to hold oil companies accountable for damage caused by spills like the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The energy legislation before the Senate already had been watered down, removing any serious effort to get a handle on global warming.  Still, Senate leaders gave up for now after searching in vain for a single Republican to join the majority in standing up to the oil companies.  Sen. Bernie Sanders, who sits on both the Senate energy and environment committees, was disappointed that his colleagues across the aisle were unwilling to confront the serious problem of climate change.  “Global warming is real, and it is causing right now very significant problems for our environment, and that's true all over the world,” Sanders told ABC News.  “The good news is that we have the capability to reverse greenhouse gas emissions and create millions of good-paying jobs. Transforming our energy system is good for our economy as we move away from spending $350 billion every single year importing oil from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and other foreign countries. What we have got to do is begin to invest that money here, create energy here, create jobs here. So am I disappointed that we’re not moving in that direction? Absolutely.”

To watch the video from ABC News’ Top Line, click here.