Reid Says Senate Won't Know Amendments Before Tomorrow's Vote

[stephanie]

WTF?
I hope this is a wake up call for the American people..

[Jim Geraghty]


We never close here at the Corner. Here's the latest.

Harry Reid has sent the following letter to Republican Senators who earlier today expressed their objection to the return of the immigration bill to the Senate floor:

Dear Senators Cornyn, Vitter, Dole, Sessions and DeMint:

Thank you for writing to me earlier today about my efforts to bring the comprehensive immigration reform bill back to the Senate floor.

As you know, the Senate was unable to complete action on the immigration bill earlier this month because a handful of Senators, including several of you, objected to my repeated efforts to call up further amendments to the bill. Following the unsuccessful cloture vote on June 7, a group of Senators including Minority Leader McConnell, Republican Conference Chairman Kyl and Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Specter, came to see me with a request that I bring the immigration bill back before the Senate under a procedure under which a large number of additional amendments could become pending to the bill.

The so-called "clay pigeon" procedure is unusual, and I would not have considered employing it in this instance without the full support of Senator McConnell. It seems to me appropriate for the two leaders to work together to overcome the tactics of a small number of Senators in order to allow the full Senate to debate an important national issue like immigration. The White House made clear that it also favors such a procedure, since the immigration bill is one of President Bush's top priorities.

I respectfully disagree with your assertion that I intend to "shut off the debate" and that the procedure in question will "silence amendments instead of facilitate their debate." On the contrary, I am working to facilitate debate on more than twenty additional amendments to the bill. In contrast, several of you objected when I tried to call up as few as five amendments during the earlier debate. The American people can see clearly who wants to debate immigration reform and who wants to shut off that debate.

Moreover, your claim that the Senate will only debate amendments which I "hand select" is plainly untrue. The dozen or so Republican amendments that will become pending to the bill have been selected by the Republican leadership, not by me.

In sum, I appreciate the concerns expressed in your letter but consider them misplaced. Senator McConnell and I have worked together in good faith to ensure a full, open and productive debate on a bill of overriding national importance that is supported by many Republicans and endorsed by President Bush.

Sincerely,

Harry Reid


This is a very big deal, because it means that several senators on the fence, who had felt that their amendments were the make-or-break factor in the bill, won't know whether their amendments are in the ones approved by McConnell.

It's either vote no, and never know whether your amendment to fix the bill would have made it through, or vote yes, and hope that yours is one of the dozen or so.
http://corner.nationalreview.com/

[stephanie]

I posted this earlier...But this is the warning I received about this "Clay Pigeon procedure last week...I had never heard of this before...Anyone here have....This just seems, so underhanded....I'm stunned..
----------------------------------------------------
Steve Elliott
President
Grassfire.org Alliance

"How grassroots responds these next 36 hours will likely
determine the fate of the 'Amnesty Bill'"-- Steve

Stephanie,

The Senate is committed to formally bringing back the Bush-Kennedy
amnesty bill possibly as early as this Friday--meaning we may
have precious time remaining to make our voices heard!

Stephanie, here's what our insiders are telling us...

The Amnesty Gang (including Bush, Kennedy, McCain, Kyl, and Reid)
will introduce a new bill as a "substitute" of the last failed
bill. This allows them to bring the bill to the Senate floor
without going through committee -- just like the first
Bush-Kennedy amnesty bill.

This is where it gets shadowy. Harry Reid will employ what is
being called the "clay pigeon" procedure whereby all the
amendments are lumped together as one to limit the ability
of opposition to resist the bill!

What does all this mean?

It means that you and I and the rest of the citizens of our
nation have been sold out by an arrogant Senate that has
completely lost touch with the American people. Just listen
to the bristling arrogance of Senate Minority leader (and
Amnesty Senator from Mississippi) Trent Lott, who spoke to
reporters yesterday. "I've had my phones jammed for three weeks.
Yesterday I had three people answering them continuously all day.
To think that you're going to intimidate a senator or any
senator into voting one way or the other by gorging your phones
with phone calls -- most of whom don't even know where Gulfport,
Mississippi, is -- is not an effective tactic. But it's their
right to do that."

That's right, Trent, it is our right, and you are feeling it!

Stephanie, in simple terms, the ONLY barrier left for the Senate
to pass this bill is YOU. That is why I'm calling for an even
greater grassroots uprising than before.

Whether they formally bring the amnesty bill back on Friday,
or Monday really doesn't matter. What matters is that they
are bringing amnesty back, and it is up to grassroots America
to stop them cold!

[nevadamedic]

WTF?
I hope this is a wake up call for the American people..

[Jim Geraghty]


We never close here at the Corner. Here's the latest.

Harry Reid has sent the following letter to Republican Senators who earlier today expressed their objection to the return of the immigration bill to the Senate floor:

Dear Senators Cornyn, Vitter, Dole, Sessions and DeMint:

Thank you for writing to me earlier today about my efforts to bring the comprehensive immigration reform bill back to the Senate floor.

As you know, the Senate was unable to complete action on the immigration bill earlier this month because a handful of Senators, including several of you, objected to my repeated efforts to call up further amendments to the bill. Following the unsuccessful cloture vote on June 7, a group of Senators including Minority Leader McConnell, Republican Conference Chairman Kyl and Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Specter, came to see me with a request that I bring the immigration bill back before the Senate under a procedure under which a large number of additional amendments could become pending to the bill.

The so-called "clay pigeon" procedure is unusual, and I would not have considered employing it in this instance without the full support of Senator McConnell. It seems to me appropriate for the two leaders to work together to overcome the tactics of a small number of Senators in order to allow the full Senate to debate an important national issue like immigration. The White House made clear that it also favors such a procedure, since the immigration bill is one of President Bush's top priorities.

I respectfully disagree with your assertion that I intend to "shut off the debate" and that the procedure in question will "silence amendments instead of facilitate their debate." On the contrary, I am working to facilitate debate on more than twenty additional amendments to the bill. In contrast, several of you objected when I tried to call up as few as five amendments during the earlier debate. The American people can see clearly who wants to debate immigration reform and who wants to shut off that debate.

Moreover, your claim that the Senate will only debate amendments which I "hand select" is plainly untrue. The dozen or so Republican amendments that will become pending to the bill have been selected by the Republican leadership, not by me.

In sum, I appreciate the concerns expressed in your letter but consider them misplaced. Senator McConnell and I have worked together in good faith to ensure a full, open and productive debate on a bill of overriding national importance that is supported by many Republicans and endorsed by President Bush.

Sincerely,

Harry Reid


This is a very big deal, because it means that several senators on the fence, who had felt that their amendments were the make-or-break factor in the bill, won't know whether their amendments are in the ones approved by McConnell.

It's either vote no, and never know whether your amendment to fix the bill would have made it through, or vote yes, and hope that yours is one of the dozen or so.
http://corner.nationalreview.com/

Senator Reid is the king of back room deals. It's funny how his letter doesn't say anything about McCain, maybe he is not involved? Maybe he wised up and changed his mind?

[Kathianne]

Follow-up:

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MWRkMzJjMWM2YmI1OWQ1OWQwNTM3NDA1N2Y2YTFiNzM=



Post-Reid Letter Roundup [Jim Geraghty]

A well-connected anti-deal GOP source on the Hill offers these five thoughts:

1.
Opponents are around 35 votes right now.
2.
First interesting point about Reid’s letter – he’s now demanding a tremendous amount of faith from amendment-dependent waverers. Will Reid keep their amendments as is, or will he alter them? Those who do vote to bring back the bill today, because they think they’ll get votes on their amendments are being naïve, this source contends, because Reid and Kennedy will not allow anything that would fundamentally change the bill.
3.
Second interesting thing about Reid’s letter – so the GOP leadership is okay with this precedent-setting clay pigeon maneuver, even though it prevents Republicans from altering the bill in any significant manner?
4.
Reid’s “nothing is ever my fault” attitude continues. After the last cloture vote failed, Reid was quick to emphasize “The President failed.” On the clay pigeon, he points to McConnell as his partner on it. If this deal passes, he’ll be quick to take all the credit; “Democrats solved the problem of illegal immigration.” If it fails, he’ll once again blame the President’s inability to control those anti-Hispanic Republicans, etc…
5.
There’s a slight downside to the House GOP voting to criticize the Senate deal – some GOP senators might think they can count on the House to improve or kill the bill. They shouldn’t do that; "that’s voting for amnesty without a net."

06/26 09:54 AM

The letter:

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/9030/letter2reid003fg3.jpg

Reid's response to the letter: (http://reid.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=277754)


Monday, June 25, 2007

Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent the following response to Republican Senators who earlier today expressed their objection to the return of the immigration bill to the Senate floor. The text of the letter is below:



June 25, 2007



The Honorable John Cornyn
The Honorable David Vitter
The Honorable Elizabeth Dole
The Honorable Jeff Sessions
The Honorable Jim DeMint
United States Senate

Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senators Cornyn, Vitter, Dole, Sessions and DeMint:

Thank you for writing to me earlier today about my efforts to bring the comprehensive immigration reform bill back to the Senate floor.

As you know, the Senate was unable to complete action on the immigration bill earlier this month because a handful of Senators, including several of you, objected to my repeated efforts to call up further amendments to the bill. Following the unsuccessful cloture vote on June 7, a group of Senators including Minority Leader McConnell, Republican Conference Chairman Kyl and Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Specter, came to see me with a request that I bring the immigration bill back before the Senate under a procedure under which a large number of additional amendments could become pending to the bill.

The so-called “clay pigeon” procedure is unusual, and I would not have considered employing it in this instance without the full support of Senator McConnell. It seems to me appropriate for the two leaders to work together to overcome the tactics of a small number of Senators in order to allow the full Senate to debate an important national issue like immigration. The White House made clear that it also favors such a procedure, since the immigration bill is one of President Bush’s top priorities.

I respectfully disagree with your assertion that I intend to “shut off the debate” and that the procedure in question will “silence amendments instead of facilitate their debate.” On the contrary, I am working to facilitate debate on more than twenty additional amendments to the bill. In contrast, several of you objected when I tried to call up as few as five amendments during the earlier debate. The American people can see clearly who wants to debate immigration reform and who wants to shut off that debate.

Moreover, your claim that the Senate will only debate amendments which I “hand select” is plainly untrue. The dozen or so Republican amendments that will become pending to the bill have been selected by the Republican leadership, not by me.

In sum, I appreciate the concerns expressed in your letter but consider them misplaced. Senator McConnell and I have worked together in good faith to ensure a full, open and productive debate on a bill of overriding national importance that is supported by many Republicans and endorsed by President Bush.



Sincerely,



Harry Reid