Disappointed about the half-victory in the Senate yesterday? Don’t give up hope yet. Majority leader Harry Reid’s still got some fight in him (from CongressNow, sub. rqd.):
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) this afternoon said he will revive the energy tax package that was defeated amid Republican opposition this week, saying he was confident he could muster the votes necessary to pass the measure at a later date.
“We’re going to figure out how to bring it back,” Reid said today. “There are a number of places we can look” for reviving the measure, including the upcoming farm bill and a House energy package that will be brought up in that chamber in a matter of weeks.
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Reid today said that Democrats could meet the 60-vote threshold on the tax package at a later date, noting that two Democratic Senators — Barbara Boxer (Calif.) and Tim Johnson (S.D.) — were absent from yesterday’s vote.
Boxer was in California for the birth of a grandchild, while Johnson is recovering from a stroke. Reid himself voted against cloture for procedural reasons that allow him to bring the measure up again at a later date.
“We have 60 votes,” he said.
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Reid also shrugged off a White House veto threat over provisions of the Senate bill, accusing President Bush of being accustomed to a “rubber stamp” from dealing with a Republican-led Congress.
“They can take their rubber stamp and you know what they can do with it,” Reid said. “We’re going to continue to do what we think is right for the American people.”
You go girl!
