Senate

"That’s not just a bad idea that would lead to discomfort but one that would lead to disaster," Reid said.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said the United States has good reason to be frustrated with the Pakistani government after the killing of Osama bin Laden.  

"Suffice to say we have sufficient reason to be very, very unhappy with the direction that relationship has taken over the last few months," Rubio said in an interview with the Florida political site The Shark Tank.

Rubio said there are "some questions" that Pakistan needs to address about what their government might have known about bin Laden's whereabouts.  

With the House in recess next week, the Democrat-led Senate will take center stage as Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) tries to move controversial legislation to raise taxes on oil companies.

The vote will test how much support there is for stripping tax breaks from profitable oil companies that are also enjoyed by other companies. The legislation isn't expected to pass, but Democrats are hoping it can help them win a debate with Republicans over how best to lower the deficit and deal with high gas prices.

Democratic leadership is likely to bring the House-passed 2012 budget plan to the floor later this month, an aide said.

With the House out of session and no legislation planned for the Senate floor, all eyes turn to a packed schedule in the Senate committees next week.

In the wake of the killing Osama bin Laden, the Senate Foreign Relations panel will review the strategic implications of Pakistan and the region. The committee will also consider ways in which the U.S. can help support the private sector in countries that have recently undergone major political changes, including Egypt and Tunisia.

On Tuesday the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will address high gas prices by exploring ways to produce more energy domestically, and on Thursday the Committee on Homeland Security will scrutinize intelligence community reform post-9/11.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) adjourned the Senate at at 5:56 p.m. Thursday night, concluding a week in which the upper chamber did not officially take up a single piece of serious legislation.

The Senate Ethics Committee found "reason to believe" that former Sen. John Ensign "violated laws."

The leaders of the Senate Ethics Committee will address the committee’s ongoing investigation of former Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) at 2:30 p.m. Thursday on the Senate floor.

Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and ranking member Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) are both scheduled to speak.

Waterboarding did not lead to the discovery and killing of Osama bin Laden, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Thursday in an emotional floor speech. 

McCain, who endured years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, said tough interrogation techniques such as waterboarding did not provide the details that led U.S. forces to bin Laden. 

“It was not torture, or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees that got us the major leads that ultimately enabled our intelligence community to find Osama bin Laden,” McCain said in a 20-minute speech.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) accused Republicans Thursday of “protecting their friends in Big Oil” by employing “misinformation and scare tactics.”

Republicans have claimed that a Democratic proposal to cut the tax breaks received by the top five oil producing companies would raise gas prices.