Reid Blasts Proposed GOP Cuts, Casts Doubt On Budget Compromise

By Anna Cameron

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) continued his verbal assault on the GOP budget package Friday during an appearance on the Senate floor.

“That irresponsible proposal slashes investments, cuts jobs, and sacrifices security and education,” Reid said.

The Senate Majority leader further dismissed the $61 billion in spending cuts, declaring that the plan “is based in ideology” and makes cuts “arbitrarily, without regard for consequences.”

After meeting yesterday with Vice President Joe Biden and Republican leaders to negotiate government funding through the end of the current fiscal year ending on September 30, Reid was pessimistic concerning potential budgetary outcomes.

At present, Republicans, Democrats, and the White House have each presented differing proposals. Though Democrats have consistently voiced opposition to the GOP package, Republicans would like the Senate to vote on their budget that has already passed in the House. The White House, however, has asked Congress to pass a budget that slashes $10 billion in spending from current levels.

Reid acknowledged Friday that his party’s proposal, which would bring spending down by $51 billion, is unlikely to gain traction.

“Not to spoil the surprise, but we all know how this vote will turn out,” he said. “We know neither will reach the President’s desk as written. We’ll end up back at square one, without consensus, without a budget for the rest of this fiscal year, and without assurance that we can keep the country running.”

Group Wants Vote On DADT During Lame-Duck

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) should schedule a vote on a measure to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy as soon as Congress reconvenes, said a group of pro-gay advocates on Thursday.

Servicemembers United, an interest group representing gay and lesbian troops and veterans, released a statement urging the newly-reelected Reid to work quickly on a repeal of DADT, which is included in this year’s defense spending bill.

“The path to getting defense authorization and ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ wrapped up this year is narrow, but that path is also crystal clear,” said Servicemembers United Executive Director Alexander Nicholson. “There is neither time nor any good reason to delay bringing the authorization bill back up for reconsideration, and the first concrete action on the bill absolutely must occur before the Senate’s Thanksgiving recess.”

Reid’s initial attempt to file cloture on DADT failed back in August. Now, with Republicans poised to add to their minority in the Senate come January, the Democrats’ window of opportunity to act is diminishing rapidly. Reid said yesterday that he would prefer to vote on DADT before the end of the year, but hedged a little, reminding reporters that the Senate’s calendar will be busy during the brief session.

“The problem we have with the defense aurhorization bill is that it takes a while to get done,” he said

On December 1, the Pentagon will submit its year-long review of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which is expected to serve as a guide for legislative action. During a news conference at the White House on Wednesday, Obama said the report “will give us time to act, potentially, during the lame-duck session to change this policy.”

This Week On Capitol Hill

The Senate will vote on a bill Tuesday aimed at providing incentives for businesses to not ship jobs overseas.

The Creating American Jobs and End Offshoring Act would grant two-year payroll tax holidays for companies that take on new employees who perform services in the U.S. that were once done abroad. The legislation is in line with the Democrats’ ‘Make it in America’ agenda.

Business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers have come out strongly against the bill, arguing that it will make U.S. companies less competitive in the global marketplace. Democrats, however, say the legislation will help create jobs.

Meanwhile, the House will vote either Wednesday or Thursday on legislation aimed at providing health monitoring and financial compensation to first responders and others that were injured in the 2001 World Trade Center attacks. The bill failed the first time around in July, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she hopes to “have a strong, bipartisan vote to pass this critical legislation.”

On the issue of taxes, it appears extremely unlikely that either the House or Senate will take any action before adjourning for the final weeks of campaigning. While Pelosi has yet to completely rule out holding a vote sometime next week, most Democrats have signaled that they would rather address the issue after the midterms.

Jim Manley, the spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), said Thursday that the issue would be on hold for now. “We will come back in November and stay in session as long as it takes to get this done.” 

Senate To Vote On Disclose Act Tomorrow

Despite losing key battles yesterday on repealing ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,’ and the DREAM Act, the Senate will attempt one more major vote on Thursday.

That’s the day Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has decided to bring the DISCLOSE Act to the floor. The bill, which the House passed in June, would require organizations involved in political campaigning to disclose the identity of their large donors and to reveal their identities in political ads they fund. It would also prohibit foreign corporations, government contractors and TARP recipients from making political donations.

The legislation was crafted in response to a Supreme Court decision in January that allowed corporations and unions to pay for political ads made independently of candidate campaigns.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), a staunch proponent of the bill, told reporters on Wednesday that unless the Disclose Act is passed, “the winner of every upcoming election this November won’t be Democrats or Republicans; It will be special interests.”

“Passing [the bill] would be a huge win for restoring transparency to our elections,” he added.

Addressing concerns that Democrats are attempting to rush the bill through to help preserve their majority in Congress, Schumer said the legislation would not go into effect until January, two months after the midterms take place. Earlier today, a story that appeared on Politico noted that Democrats are being outspent badly by groups supporting Republican candidates.

Interestingly, Reid decided to schedule the vote on Thursday instead of today partly because a number of Senate Democrats were expected to attend a big-ticket fundraiser this evening in Manhattan, at which the president would be speaking.

Disclose will probably be the last big vote taken in the Senate before members return home in two weeks to campaign for reelection. When asked whether the upper chamber would hold a vote on whether to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, Schumer replied, “It’s being discussed within our caucus now.” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters yesterday that his chamber would wait for the Senate to act on the tax cuts.

Senate To Vote Tuesday On Defense Bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has scheduled a vote on a defense authorization bill for Tuesday that includes, among other things, a provision to repeal the military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy as well as a measure to put hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants on a pathway to citizenship.

Reid is likely aware that getting the 60 votes needed to pass either measure could be difficult, but understands the positive impact that attaching the two side-bills to the legislation may have for his party. The Nevada Democrat, who isn’t taking for granted his chances of being reelected this fall, hopes the efforts to pass immigration reform don’t go unacknowledged at the polls by the state’s voters, nearly 25% of whom are Hispanic.

Democrats, including Vice President Joe Biden, believe they are close to having the votes necessary to overcome a Republican filibuster on DADT. However, some Republicans have made it clear that they’ll vote ‘no’ if the controversial item is attached. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), an enthusiastic supporter of the military, told the Washington Times earlier this week that he believes Reid is using the defense bill to advance the ““social agenda of the liberal left.”

The DREAM Act has even less support from Republicans despite the fact that it was co-authored in 2001 by one of their own, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). The legislation, which aims to put illegal immigrants between the ages of 16-35 on a path toward citizenship, has 39 co-sponsors, all Democrats, and is supported by President Obama.

During a meeting with Hispanic lawmakers at the White House this week, Obama reportedly said he would ask the Senate to hold an up-or-down vote on the measure. According to Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), the president told the lawmakers he would “leave no stone unturned.”