Reid no fan of sleep-ins

Sen. Harry Reid made something clear during his interview with "Meet the Press" that aired today. He does not think much of lawmakers sleeping in their offices.

He made cracks about the practice twice. The New York Times on Friday reported 40 to 50 House members, some veterans and some newcomers, plan to sleep where they work.

"For many of them, joining the unofficial Couch Caucus is a practical way to save money and a symbolic gesture that they are both fiscally conservative and serious about changing how business is done in Washington," the Times reported.

In the Nevada delegation, Republican Rep. Dean Heller sleeps in his office. Freshman Republican Rep. Joe Heck ordered a fold-out couch for his office.

In the televised interview, Reid suggested the practice was empty as a symbolic gesture. He called it "senseless," and compared it to Republicans trying to label Democrat-passed health care reform as job-killing legislation -- a label he flatly rejected.

"Let's stop throwing these bombs and doing things like thinking the American people are happy you are sleeping in your office or reading the Constitution when there are things we need to do to deal with real people problems," Reid, the Senate majority leader, said later while talking about party clashes in Congress.

Reid spokesman Jon Summers said The New York Times piece was on Reid's mind during the interview, which was recorded on Friday.

"His point, which he stated, was that whether people sleep in their offices is not what's important to the American people, they want us to work together to get things done for the country," Summers said.