[jetset]

Looks like Frist's second attempt to get his measure attached to the Defence bill has failed as well - Sen. Warner is taking a strong position on this - he doesn't want his vital legislation cluttered up and possibly held up by extraneous and unrelated matter such as Frist and Hastert are attempting to introduce.

This is the position as at last night US time (26/27 September)

WASHINGTON

Republican leaders in the House and Senate were blocked Wednesday by a senior GOP senator in their efforts to add immigration, handgun and Internet gambling measures to a defense bill.


Sen. John Warner, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, rejected appeals from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert to use his bill on military pay raises as a vehicle for their pet measures.

Warner said in a memo to Frist he is "firmly opposed" to including unrelated bills in the defense bill. Two other Republicans also oppose the add-on bills, Warner said.

Hastert had insisted on adding to the defense bill a measure the House passed last week that would make it easier to detain and deport illegal immigrants who are members of violent criminal street gangs.

The speaker also wanted to use the defense bill as a vehicle for a House measure allowing judges to carry handguns and bolstering courthouse security in response to the murder of a Chicago federal judge's husband and mother last year.

Warner balked at both, saying he wanted to keep the defense bill bipartisan at a time when U.S. troops are at war. Warner said that he, along with Democrats and at least two other Republicans, would not sign off on it or any other "out-of-scope" bills that were added.

"There are not even sufficient signatures to affect a partisan Republican" defense bill, he said.

Senate Democrats, including Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., support tightening court security. But the House-passed version allowing judges to carry concealed weapons cooled their support for the measure. Democrats also oppose aspects of the immigration bill, which has drawn fire from immigration rights groups.

Hastert said Tuesday he has offered to drop the provision allowing judges to carry a concealed weapon.

Frist, eyeing a 2008 presidential bid, has been pushing for the Internet gambling crackdown. Among other things, the provision would ban the use of credit cards, checks and other forms of payment to settle online wagers.