Weekend votes stall Iraq trip for 3 senators
By J. Taylor Rushing
Posted: 01/08/09 01:12 PM
Three senators have pulled out of a trip with Vice President-elect Biden to Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan because of the Senate’s expected votes this weekend.
Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) will be staying in Washington to vote on a massive package of 164 bills that is being held up by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.).
Biden is still making the trip, as is Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Biden’s office confirmed Biden and Graham left on the trip Thursday, and Kerry, Reed and Collins had notified Biden they will be staying behind.
The news suggests Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) may not be bluffing in his threats to hold the Senate in session on Saturday and Sunday. Kerry said Reid did not ask the senators not to go on the trip, but did speak to them and stressed the urgency of the votes.
“There are 160-odd bills in there, major bills that many of us have wanted for a very long time,” Kerry said in an interview with The Hill on Thursday. “It’s very important to make sure it happens and the leader said it was important to him.
“And I made a judgment that it was important to be here,” added Kerry, who had already visited several of the countries on a trip last month.
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http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/weekend-votes-stall-iraq-trip-for-3-senators-2009-01-08.html
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