Senate leader blames Republicans for legislative gridlock

06/30/2007

(CNN)–Too many congressional Republicans have stood in the way of legislative progress Senator Harry Reid said Saturday.

“The immigration vote we had this week was just the latest example,” the Nevada senator said in the weekly Democratic radio address. “With that bill, we had a rare chance to make progress on one of the country’s top problems. The overwhelming majority of Democrats voted to move forward on a bill even President Bush supported, but just a handful of Republicans joined us.”

Reid was also critical of Republicans regarding legislation currently pending in the Senate. “The ethics reform bill passed by a vote of 96-2, but now Republicans are blocking it. The 9/11 commission bill passed with heavy Republican support, but they are also blocking this critical legislation.”

In his remarks, Reid said putting partisan politics aside was the best way forward. “This can start next week with the Defense Authorization Bill, which is a new opportunity to change course in Iraq.” The bill is expected to include measures that would seek to hasten a pull out of U.S. troops from Iraq. “While a growing number of Republicans are saying the right things on Iraq, we’ll soon find out if they have the courage to vote the right way also.”