Leaders: Senate Won’t Be in Session Thanksgiving Week
Senate Democratic leaders have assured Members that they will not be in session the week of Thanksgiving, but they are holding out the possibility that the Senate may work into the weekend of Nov. 21.Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said he believes he will be able to move onto a massive health care reform bill next week, which would likely mean having a vote to overcome a filibuster on whether to even begin debating the measure.However, Senate aides said the earliest such a vote could occur is probably Nov. 17, a date that could slip depending on when or whether Reid receives a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the Senate bill. Reid has said he expects a CBO score by the end of this week.But if a vote cannot be scheduled before the week of Thanksgiving, Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) indicated, the Senate might have to wait until after the holiday.“Harry’s made a pretty serious promise to the Members that we won’t be here Thanksgiving week,— Durbin told reporters Tuesday.