Pennsylvania senator accuses Democratic leader of slander in lobbying asbestos fight
RAW STORYPublished: February 7, 2006
An uneventful day in the Senate quickly turned unruly Monday afternoon when Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) lashed out at Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), accusing Reid of violating Senate conduct rules and slander, following Reid’s assertion that corporate dollars had bought asbestos legislation access to the chamber floor, ROLL CALL reports Tuesday. Excerpts:
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During a floor speech Monday afternoon, Reid vowed to defeat the asbestos legislation and, in an effort to tie it to the current lobbying and ethics scandals, argued that the Senate was considering the bill only because 13 “companies spent $144.5 million in two years lobbying to get it here.”
Privately, Republicans said the sudden outburst of partisanship — which occurred as many Senators were attending a funeral service for Coretta Scott King — shows Frist’s increasing willingness to quickly engage Reid, who used quick unexpected attacks on Frist and the GOP last year to stymie much of the Republican agenda.
A clearly agitated Specter came to the floor to confront Reid, accusing the Minority Leader of slandering himself and Leahy in violation of Senate Rule 19 which bars personal attacks against fellow Senators.
“To say that this bill, which Sen. Leahy and I have led for the better part of the last three years, is the result of lobbyists, quote, ‘buying their way into the Senate’ is slanderous. It is a violation of Rule 19,” Specter shot back angrily.
Specter accused Reid of making rambling statements, then laid into him over a staff-written memo — which Reid later apologized for — that accused 33 GOP Senators of unethical behavior.
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An uneventful day in the Senate quickly turned unruly Monday afternoon when Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) lashed out at Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), accusing Reid of violating Senate conduct rules and slander, following Reid’s assertion that corporate dollars had bought asbestos legislation access to the chamber floor, ROLL CALL reports Tuesday. Excerpts:
#
During a floor speech Monday afternoon, Reid vowed to defeat the asbestos legislation and, in an effort to tie it to the current lobbying and ethics scandals, argued that the Senate was considering the bill only because 13 “companies spent $144.5 million in two years lobbying to get it here.”
Privately, Republicans said the sudden outburst of partisanship — which occurred as many Senators were attending a funeral service for Coretta Scott King — shows Frist’s increasing willingness to quickly engage Reid, who used quick unexpected attacks on Frist and the GOP last year to stymie much of the Republican agenda.
A clearly agitated Specter came to the floor to confront Reid, accusing the Minority Leader of slandering himself and Leahy in violation of Senate Rule 19 which bars personal attacks against fellow Senators.
“To say that this bill, which Sen. Leahy and I have led for the better part of the last three years, is the result of lobbyists, quote, ‘buying their way into the Senate’ is slanderous. It is a violation of Rule 19,” Specter shot back angrily.
Specter accused Reid of making rambling statements, then laid into him over a staff-written memo — which Reid later apologized for — that accused 33 GOP Senators of unethical behavior.
Link Here
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