Reid vows not to let Vitter ‘dictate’ the Senate

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday that he wouldn’t let Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) “dictate” what happens in the Senate.

Vitter has been blocking progress on the Drug Quality and Security Act, H.R. 3204, which would make it easier to trace drugs throughout the U.S. supply chain.

{mosads}“Unless the entire U.S. Senate bends to that one senator’s wish … he will force this body to jump through hoops … to finish this crucial drug safety bill,” Reid said on the Senate floor. “I can’t let one senator dictate what goes on here in the Senate.”

Vitter is demanding an amendment vote on his Show Your Exemption Act, which would force members of Congress to disclose which of their staff they have exempted from enrolling in the ObamaCare health exchange.

“That information should absolutely be made public,” Vitter said Wednesday. “Whatever we think about the underlying issues … to me it’s a no-brainer that there should be full disclosure about how each office chooses to handle the situation.”

Reid said if Vitter continues to insist on running out the procedural clock on the drug bill it wouldn’t pass until Sunday.

The bill has broad bipartisan support. It passed the House in September and on Tuesday the Senate voted 97-1 to proceed to the bill — Vitter was a single “no” vote.

The Senate is expected to take up the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) next. Vitter said he’d be willing to let H.R. 3204 move forward without delay if Reid guarantees him a vote on his amendment during the consideration of NDAA.