Democrats Respond To Specter’s Claim of Deal on EFCA

When Sen. Arlen Specter told a crowd of supporters at the AFL-CIO annual convention that he engineered a compromise on EFCA, he appears to have been speaking for himself. Not only did Specter claim to have a deal, but he said that it had the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. This was news to many key Democrats, who have distanced themselves from Specter’s statement.

Sen. Tom Carper, a Delaware Democrat who opposed the card-check provision and has been working on a compromise, said no deal has been made.

“We have had real good discussions. As they say, frank and honest discussion. I think we have made real progress and narrowed somewhat of the differences between organized labor and the business community. We are not quite there yet. My hope is we will finish what we have started.”

Carper added that those working on a deal will re-start talks later this fall.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who recently said the bill was dead for the year, added that he was “not aware” of any deal. The number two Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin, said negotiations were continuing and that he expects Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) to make an announcement when a deal is reached.

Moderate Democrats such as Senators Mary Landrieu (of Louisiana), Kay Hagan (of North Carolina) and Blanche Lincoln (of Arkansas) were equally shocked by Specter’s announcement and said they have not heard of anything, and did not commit to anything.