Quote :

"The maneuvering occurred as the Senate debated a broad defense bill that includes a pay raise for the troops, revised regulations for detaining suspects in the war on terror and an increase in the size of the Army and Marines. Following the vote, Reid said he would suspend work on the measure, to which the Democrats sought to attach the troop withdrawal provision, until a date to be determined. By pulling the defense bill, Democrats leave open the possibility of resurrecting the debate in September, when Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus is expected to deliver his assessment of the recent troop buildup. Also in September, Congress plans to consider a war spending bill to continue combat after October 1."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/18/us.iraq.ap/index.html


Senator McCain was saying that this was the first time in forty years that a defense bill had not been voted on? I find that point, alone, somewhat remarkable. Perhaps I misinterpreted what he was stating, but a defense bill has not been pulled since 1950? I heard McCain on C-Span, so if anyone can validate his quote, that may prove helpful.

I know that the recent immigration bill got pulled, but does that usually occur with a lot of Senatorial legislation?


Good ol' DVR.

McCain said, "It could be for the first time in 45 years that the Congress of the United States... has not passed a defense authorization bill and had that bill signed by the President of the United States."

[Edited on July 18, 2007 at 5:44 PM. Reason : and I'm fairly certain he stated "45" in numerical form, not word form..]

7/18/2007 5:30:24 PM

who is this "McCain" of which you speak?

7/23/2007 9:59:43 PM