Harry Reid just now on Senate floor: "We will not go to conference with a gun to our head."

[cal04]

https://twitter.com/TheLastWord

Harry Reid just now on Senate floor: "We will not go to conference with a gun to our head."

Reid: "We will not go to a conference with a gun to our head. The first thing that the House has to do is to pass a clean, 6-week CR"
https://twitter.com/mpoindc

Reid says no conference committee
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics-live/liveblog/live-updates-the-shutdown-showdown/?id=a3158b0f-2b55-423d-914e-3ccfda3c7646

“We like to resolve issues, but we will not go to conference with a gun to our heads,” Reid said.

“I propose that the House passes our clean CR, and we’ll sit down and discuss funding for the balance of the year. That’s it,” he said.

House Republicans “want to close government,” he added. “This is all a subterfuge to satisfy the tea party-driven Republicans. And it’s very, very strange, this agenda is so hurtful to the American people.”

He insisted that the House must first pass a “clean” six-week continuing resolution without any language to curtail or defund the new health-care law.


Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in no uncertain terms said Senate Democrats would not go to a conference committee with House Republicans unless they send a clean continuing resolution to the Senate.

"We will not go to conference until we get a clean CR," Reid said, reiterating the Democrats' line to demand a bill that would continue to fund the government at current levels.

After Reid, Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), Reid's lieutenants in the chamber, came to the floor to echo Reid's message.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/reid-refuses-to-entertain-conference-committee-plan

[Skittles]

1. OMG I AM SALIVATING

[dkf]

2. How does this conference thing work?

[Dragonfli]

6. It's how they resolve differences between house and senate versions of a bill. /nt

[dkf]

8. Is it a default if no agreement is made?

Does a conference committee assume negotiations and no clean cr?

If they agree to one is that firm?

[Dragonfli]

17. I just know the basics and how it's supposed to work, here we're dealing with a budget and

Lord of the Flies crazy PPL.

This specific instance is way beyond my knowledge.

[Tx4obama]

7. The conference would be on the big budgets that the Senate and House passed a long time ago ...

.. I think the purpose of the conference is to combine the big House and Senate budgets and then pass a long term budget.

Ever since a long time ago that the House refused to go into conference they've been messing around with these short term continuing 'resolutions'.

Something like that.

That about all I know

[dkf]

10. Okay so they would reconcile whatever has already been passed.

Thanks!

I need to bone up on this.

[kestrel91316]

11. Wow. I learned all about this sort of thing in 11th grade civics.

[Tx4obama]

12. Senate Dems first asked for conference on the budget resolution on April 23; GOP objected 18 times

EJ Dionne @EJDionne

RT @jamiedupree: Senate Democrats first asked for a conference on the budget resolution on April 23; GOP objected 18 times

https://twitter.com/EJDionne/status/384883566309801984

[alcibiades_mystery]

3. Reid: Beat sand. Pass the clean CR on your desk and we'll go to conference on the full budget

Excellent.

[Robbins]

4. Yeah to Reid

He is earning his pay with this crisis.

[Dawson Leery]

5. SAY NO TO HOSTAGE TAKERS!!!

[Tigress DEM]

9. Wait! Wait! I wanna add a RIDER..... Let's increase taxes on the top 1% to 40% and the top 5% to 38%

THAT WAY we can actually pay for the debts we are arguing about anyway.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

16. How about a bill for what this cost?

[mchallenger7]

13. Nervous for my family.

My mother loves paycheck to paycheck as a VA hospital employee - she is extremely nervous what tomorrow will bring, but is behind the President and Senate dems 110%. We cannot let them get away with this domestic terrorism - enough is enough. It's about time we found our backbone to these thugs!

[gopiscrap]

19. Welcome to DU

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

14. The Senate passed a budget in March

The GOP has refused to conference with them till now. Usually the House and Senate each pass a budget then conference to iron out the differences.

[blkmusclmachine]

15. Who blinks first?

If history is any clue, ...

[freshwest]

18. Is this going to repeat every six weeks from now on out? That was my take from PBO's statement.

These traitors can carry this all the way to the elections in 2014, causing havoc. The damage will be long term, and most likely can never be repaired. People are leaving their jobs for good now, letting things go that we could afford.

[Pachamama]

20. No negotiating with Terrorists

[Rex]

21. YEAH HE GETS IT!

Thank you Harry!