Roberts slams spy bill's referral [NSA Bill passed to Judiciary Cmmtee]

UPI / The Washington Times ^ | March 28, 2006 | Shaun Waterman

[Cboldt]

Sen. Pat Roberts, Kansas Republican and chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, thinks that congressional officials were mistaken to send a bill on the president's program of warrantless counterterrorism surveillance to another panel. ...

The Senate parliamentarian, a little-known but influential official who makes decisions about the legislative procedure for Senate bills, referred Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine's Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006 to the Senate Judiciary Committee, after much behind-the-scenes negotiations, according to other Senate aides.

The judiciary committee, which is also working on a very different bill dealing with the program drafted by its Chairman Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, plans a hearing today on the issue. ...

The parliamentarian's office referred press inquiries to the office of the Senate secretary. No one from that office or the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Tennessee Republican, returned phone calls requesting comment.

In practice, the referral means that members and staff of the intelligence committee will have only a short time to work on whatever proposal emerges from Mr. Specter's panel -- 10 days, according to committee staff.

[Cboldt]

Intramural skirmish in the Senate.

[USS Alaska]

Frist has absolutely no control of the 55 pubbies in the senate. If this nutless, gutless, spineless sissy thinks he has even a shot a being the next President, if will be President of the AMA.

[colorado tanker]

So the Senate Pubbies have turned national security over to Arlen Spector??? And those clowns think they'll be returned to the majority??