Jack Reed: “let me thank Senator Lugar for his commendable amendment and thank Senator Cornyn for allowing me to proceed. I would…”

“let me thank Senator Lugar for his commendable amendment and thank Senator Cornyn for allowing me to proceed. I would like to speak to the possible procedural posture we will be in next week. We are now on the Defense authorization bill, which is critical to providing resources to our service men and women who are engaged today, as we speak, in a global war on terror. But tomorrow the majority leader intends to file a cloture petition on the motion to proceed to the gun industry immunity bill. That means on Tuesday morning we will have a cloture vote, and the vote will present a stark choice for all Senators. We can stay on the Defense bill and finish our work on behalf of our soldiers, sailors, air men and women, or we can leave the Defense bill for an undetermined period of time and move to a special interest bill to give legal immunity to the gun industry. If the Senate invokes cloture on the motion to proceed to the gun industry bill next Tuesday, we will be on that motion for the next 30 hours. On Wednesday, when that time runs out, the majority leader would then file another cloture petition on the bill itself. The Senate would then spend the next 2 days on the immunity bill, and we would have another cloture vote Friday.…”