Reid: Dems will block moving forward with highway bill

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) suggested Tuesday that Democrats would block a long-term highway bill until they have more time to read the legislation.

The Senate is expected to take a procedural vote at 4 p.m. Thursday on the highway bill, but Democrats complain they have yet to see the legislation.

“We’re not going to vote on a bill we haven’t seen. We’ll vote on it but not favorably,” Reid told reporters, saying that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) should “join us to postpone this vote.”

{mosads}The procedural motion has already been pushed back from 2:15 p.m. to give lawmakers time to review the deal worked out by McConnell and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).

Reid suggested that he would be “surprised” if Democrats support moving forward with the bill unless Republicans agree to further postpone the vote.

“I would think that most Democrats are going to want to read it first,” he added.