Reid returns to Congress, but with revised agenda

Benjamin Grove

Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2005 | 11:17 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Congress was back in action today after an August recess, facing a hurriedly revised agenda and a politically charged atmosphere in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and a new Supreme Court vacancy.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and other top congressional leaders were headed to the White House this afternoon for their first meeting since the hurricane to discuss relief efforts.

Reid today said hurricane recovery and relief could cost $150 billion.

"We can and must do better than the federal government's performance so far," Reid said in a written statement.

Lawmakers return to the Capitol as the White House and politicians in both parties seek safe ground in the growing controversy over who is to blame for the delayed federal response to the hurricane.

Reid supports the creation of a federal commission that would examine the disaster response, similar to the panel that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks. Bush is ultimately responsible, Reid suggested in comments in today's New York Times.

"The buck stops at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," Reid told the newspaper.

Reid did not comment directly on Katrina at a Capitol news conference today with reporters, but Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., voiced frustration, demanding to know why it took so long for supply trucks, medical teams and buses to arrive in New Orleans when the media slipped in so easily.

"People were dying there," he said. "They were losing hope there."

Congress last week approved $10.5 billion for immediate rescue and relief efforts and Congress is expected to approve more money in the coming weeks.

Reid on Monday said Congress should take immediate action on legislation that would rush relief to victims, including a proposal to waive Medicaid co-payments for victims and reduce red tape for Medicaid recipients who need health care.

Reid also proposed federal compensation for health care providers who help victims; emergency housing vouchers for victims and tax incentives for families who take them into their homes; and federal money for school districts and colleges that take in displaced students. He also proposed finding ways to get victims cash, including expanding the federal unemployment insurance program.

It is not clear whether the Senate would act on such proposals. The Senate today is expected to approve a resolution expressing support for the hurricane victims.

"These families are counting on us," Reid said. "They are suffering, and they have no where else to turn."

In other action, Senate leaders today announced that they would delay for one week Senate action on John Roberts, whom Bush on Monday nominated to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Hearings will begin Monday and senators aim to vote on Roberts before the Oct. 3 opening of the new Supreme Court session. The delay is out of respect for former Chief Justice William Rehnquist, whose funeral is Wednesday.

Reid today said he had "some concerns" about Roberts' stances on women's rights and civil rights issues, but he noted that he and the rest of the Democrats have not said how they will vote.

"The hearings will help me work through these two issues that are so important," Reid told reporters today.

Senate leaders of both parties stressed that they want civil, fair hearings on Roberts, after a year of partisan showdowns over judges. "Substantive questions will be asked," Leahy added.

Democrats are still seeking more Roberts documents from the White House, but senators have enough documents to prepare their questions for Roberts, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., told reporters today.