Sen. Specter (R-PA) announced today that the new conference report for the Labor/HHS appropriations bill that /node/5557 will be added to the Defense appropriations bill. The reason Specter gave for this move was that there are not enough votes to pass the bill as a stand alone measure. This is purely bad legislative process. It is a radical tactic to handcuff Senators to vote for legislation they do not support under the fear of being branded unpatriotic for delaying or not approving defense funding. Is this really what the most deliberative legislative body in the history of the world has sunk to? Coercion? As we are currently seeing happen with ANWR, the GOP is using whatever deplorable tactics necessary, even delaying a bill funding the military for three months to use as a mechanism to pass unpopular legislation that would not have even a majority support on its own. The pressure of the holidays must really be getting to those in Congress who are desperate to pass something, anything at all, before they wrap up for the end of the year. We expect better of the U.S. Senate.