Reid: GOP complaints on Defense bill ‘bizarre’

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Thursday brushed aside Republican complaints he was jamming the Defense bill through the Senate this week.

“Rushing it through?” Reid said when asked about the bill at a press conference. “These statements by my Republican colleagues are bizarre.”

{mosads}The Senate voted to end debate on the Defense bill 71-29 Wednesday, and is expected to vote on final passage of the bill late Thursday evening.

The White House issued a statement Thursday stating its support of the compromise legislation, which was crafted by the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committee.

The White House applauded the provisions loosening restrictions on Guantánamo Bay transfers to foreign countries and efforts to combat sexual assault in the military.

“Overall the administration is pleased with the modifications and improvements contained in the bill that address most of the administration’s significant objections with earlier versions [of the legislation],” White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.

But Republicans are still angry that the $607 billion Pentagon policy bill is being passed without any amendment votes beyond two taken in November on Guantánamo.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) accused Reid of trying to duck a vote on a tougher Iran sanctions measure, and even Republicans who voted for cloture have slammed Reid for not allowing amendments and ignoring regular order.

“After wasting valuable time ramming through political appointee after political appointee, the majority wants to rush this crucial legislation through without the debate it deserves,” McConnell said on the floor Wednesday.

Reid said that amendments were not possible at this point, because the House had already left for the year and the Defense bill had to get passed.

It’s the same argument that has been made by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and ranking member Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) as they have pushed their colleagues to support the final bill without changes over the past two weeks.

“The House is gone. They’ve gone home. No matter how we’ve gotten to the position we’re in today, we have a bipartisan Defense bill on the floor ready to pass,” Reid said. “If we change one period, one comma, one sentence, we have no Defense bill.”

Republicans argue Reid is to blame for putting the Senate in this position because he waited until November to bring the bill to the floor when the Armed Services Committee passed it in June.

The Defense bill is considered one of the few remaining “must-pass” bills; it’s been signed into law 51 straight years.

When it was on the floor before Thanksgiving, the two parties failed to reach an agreement on amendment votes. Reid filed to end debate on the bill, and Republicans blocked a cloture vote.

With the House gone for the year after passing the Defense bill last week, however, 16 Republicans joined Democrats to support cloture in Wednesday’s vote.