According to a report today in Congressional Quarterly, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Phillip Morris) is threatening to hold up amendment votes on the pending FISA bill if Harry Reid won't allow votes on Republican amendments to the upcoming Financial Stimulus Package bill.
McConnell's willingness to hold FISA hostage to other priorities strongly suggests that Reid and Rockefeller - who drafted the Intelligence Committee version of the FISA bill presently on the table - want this bill even more than the Republican leadership, and presumably even more than the Bush Administration, who could presumably de-fang McConnell with one phone call.
Why do the Dems want this bill so badly? Fear of being called soft on terra?" Or could it have to do with the fact that Rockefeller was one of those lucky legislators kept in the loop of unconstitutional criminality all along, and telecom immunity provides some valuable CYA?
More at CQ:
Legislation to overhaul the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act remained stalled in the Senate Tuesday, held hostage by partisan wrangling over procedures for consideration of an unrelated economic stimulus package.
A frustrated Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., complained that Republicans are blocking his efforts to schedule votes on proposed amendments to the FISA bill. A temporary extension of the electronic surveillance law is in force until Feb. 16, and the White House insisted that Congress complete the more lasting overhaul by then.
-snip
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky., said Senate Republicans will not agree to move forward on the FISA rewrite until Reid gives them a chance to offer amendments to the economic stimulus bill that also is awaiting a Senate floor vote.
“These two issues are interconnected in terms of how we can fairly go forward,” the GOP leader said. “As soon as we have an understanding about how we go forward on the stimulus package, then I’m confident we’ll make progress on this as well.”
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=cqmidday-000002666107
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