December 9, 2008

Reid Statement On Progress Of Auto Recovery Legislation

Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today on the floor of the U.S. Senate:

“We have just reported three tax bills as potential placeholders for the auto recovery plan.  There are two remaining issues that have been discussed with the White House.  I’m confident that those matters can be resolved within the next hour or so.  They’re both important issues, but I think that they can be resolved.  That having been done, Senator McConnell and I will confer and decide how we’re going to proceed forward.

“I think it would be to everyone’s advantage that the Senate move first, but we’ll have to wait and see.  The House of course can always do that, if they choose to.  We would hope that we could complete work on this tonight or tomorrow, and then we have to wait for the White House to determine what, if anything, they’re going to do with requesting the other money from the TARP.  That decision has not been made yet. 

“There are a number of important foreign relations meetings that people want to be involved in, that they have set on their calendars for long-standing periods of time.  These are not pleasure trips; these are business trips representing the Senate.  And we hope to be able to complete work here as soon as possible.  The Senate being the unique legislative body that it is and has been, one or two people can slow things down quite a bit.  We hope that’s not the case.  We know that what we have to try to do and we need to do it as quickly as possible.  And I hope that in fact can be done, that the legislation be put before us and the vote taken.”

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