''They're just leaving town, it appears,'' Reid said from his office
in the Capitol.
''We hope that's not the case, but it appears that's what they are
going to do. And so we're going to have to find a way to fund the
government for the next year.''
''We're going to put in some hours here that haven't been put in in a
long time,'' Reid said.
That means ''being here more days in the week and we start off this
year with seven weeks without a break. That hasn't been done in many,
many years here.''
He said ''the first thing we do'' will be to try to cut the practice
of lawmakers anonymously inserting ''earmarks'' -- narrowly tailored
spending that often helps a specific company or project in their
district -- into bills.
Citizens Against Government Waste, a taxpayer watchdog group, said
there were 9,963 such projects in the spending bills for the 2006
budget year, costing $29 billion.
From The Associated Press, 11/28/06:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Reid-Interview.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin
Sen. Reid: Ethics, Stem Cells Top Agenda
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) --
Ethics reform, a higher minimum wage and more money for stem cell
research are the top items on the Senate agenda next year, incoming
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday in an interview with
The Associated Press.
Reid said he will tackle those priorities after cleaning up the
''financial mess'' that the outgoing Republican leadership has left.
He was referring to nine long overdue appropriations bills covering 13
Cabinet departments for the budget year that began Oct. 1.
''They're just leaving town, it appears,'' Reid said from his office
in the Capitol.
''We hope that's not the case, but it appears that's what they are
going to do. And so we're going to have to find a way to fund the
government for the next year.''
The must-pass legislation totals more than $460 billion and promises
to divert time and energy from other items on the Democratic agenda.
Reid also said he's doing away with the ''do-nothing Congress'' that
Democrats campaigned against this year as they ousted the Republican
majority in both chambers of Congress.
The Nevada Democrat, who is wrapping up his final days as Senate
minority leader, will take control of the Senate agenda when the new
Congress takes the oath of office in January.
''We're going to put in some hours here that haven't been put in in a
long time,'' Reid said.
That means ''being here more days in the week and we start off this
year with seven weeks without a break. That hasn't been done in many,
many years here.''
Reid said he hopes that President Bush is willing to work with the
Democratic congressional leadership, but the early signs have not been
encouraging.
He said the White House has not reached out to him since his meeting
with Bush in the Oval Office on Nov. 10.
''Sorry to say,'' Reid said.
Bush used the only veto of his presidency so far to reject a bill
passed by Congress last year that would have expanded embryonic stem
cell research through government funding.
Supporters of such research say it could lead to treatments and cures
for a wide variety of ailments, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
disease and spinal cord injuries.
Bush and abortion foes, however, have opposed embryonic stem cell
research because the embryos die in the process of harvesting the stem
cells from them.
Reid said he hoped the president ''will relent and see the light''
that the research gives hope to Americans struggling with illnesses
and injuries.
He said the Senate is ''not even close'' to having the two-thirds vote
necessary to override Bush's veto, but he hopes some Republicans will
join the Democrats after losing the election this month.
The election came on the heels of several ethical scandals involving
lawmakers, and Reid said reform is needed.
He said ''the first thing we do'' will be to try to cut the practice
of lawmakers anonymously inserting ''earmarks'' -- narrowly tailored
spending that often helps a specific company or project in their
district -- into bills.
Citizens Against Government Waste, a taxpayer watchdog group, said
there were 9,963 such projects in the spending bills for the 2006
budget year, costing $29 billion.
The third item at the top of Reid's agenda is increasing the minimum
wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour.
The White House has signaled that Bush may be willing to consider the
proposal.
_____________________________________________________
Let's roll
Harry
.
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