Majority Leader Reid continues to control amendments offered to farm bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) continued to use a procedural maneuver to bring small batches of amendments to a Senate farm bill Wednesday, swatting away a request by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) to offer a larger bundle of amendments.

Shortly after the Senate voted down two farm bill amendments, Reid used a floor maneuver called “filling the tree” to bring up four more amendments. The amendments were ones submitted by Coburn (#2353), Sens. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) (#2366), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) (#2385), and Claire McCaskill (#2222).

{mosads}On Tuesday he used the same maneuver to block Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) from offering an amendment to the farm bill, the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012 (S. 3240), that would have defunded U.S. aid to Pakistan contingent on the release of a Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden.

“It would seem to me that the process we’re planning now is the leader deciding on what amendments we’ll vote on and what we won’t,” Coburn said after Reid listed the second group of amendments. “I wonder if he would be open to the consideration of 40 amendments over the next four days and coming to an agreement on this because what we’re playing now is a game of low-priority amendments against high-priority amendments in the name of saying we’re doing something rather than having an open amendment process, which is the tradition is the Senate.

“My question to him, would he be amenable to having a much larger number of amendments so we don’t continue to get out of order? This is the first time we’ve seen this list and this is a very low-priority amendment for me,” Coburn said.

Reid said that the reason he was bringing up the amendments through his procedural move was because otherwise he would have to file cloture on every piece of legislation that came up on the floor.

“I wish my friend was nearly as exercised over the year — 18 months on getting on a bill. It takes us a week on getting on a bill because we have to file a motion to invoke cloture on every time we proceed to a bill,” Reid continued.

Reid said, regarding the “tradition” Coburn mentioned, that it was at one time only on a “rare occasion” that the leader would have to invoke cloture on a motion to proceed.

“Now it’s what we do every time because the Republicans demand it,” Reid said. “So, in direct answer to your question, I have worked with [Sens. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)], we’re trying to get some amendments up.”

Reid said that Roberts and Stabenow, the sponsors of the farm bill, “are trying to come up with a list” of amendments to consider. Since the chamber began considering the farm bill, more than 100 amendments have been offered by senators.

“We’re having some kind of a steering meeting or whatever it is now,” Reid continued. “Maybe you go visit with them and try and help us get a list. I’m not going to try and talk out here about a number but as we did with the highway bill and FDA bill, come up with some amendments.”

Reid said he didn’t want the chamber to do nothing while a deal on amendments was being crafted.

“The reason we had these two votes this morning is while we’re working on coming up with a final list of amendments, why sit around here and twiddle our thumbs — at least through the process that we’ve gotten two major amendments out of the way,” Reid said.

Reid added he planned to continue offering up amendments until a deal was reached.

“I take the leader at his word. I will go back to my caucus and explain that,” Coburn said in response.

Coburn said he understood Reid’s argument and would “go and seek the counsel and guidance of my caucus and give you a message.”

—This story was updated at 5:56 p.m.