Reid wanted S. 3276 to be considered with a limited number of amendments, but Sen. Saxby Chambliss Clarence (Saxby) Saxby ChamblissLobbying world GOP lobbyist tapped for White House legislative affairs The Hill's Morning Report - Gillibrand drops out as number of debaters shrinks MORE (R-Ga.) objected and said he didn’t understand why the Senate couldn’t just pass the House FISA bill. He referred to a letter stating that the Obama administration supports the House-version.

ADVERTISEMENT

Reid said his reason for the limited number of amendment was because of time constraints — he wants to finish work on the bill before leaving for Christmas.

“I will continue to work on a path forward,” Reid said. “But Christmas is not more important than this legislation. I hope I’m not offending anyone, but it isn’t.”

Reid said he believed the Senate would be on “thin ice” if it waited to pass a FISA bill until after Christmas.