Tag: U.S. Congress

Schumer: Stimulus package deal on ‘2-yard line’

Pelosi says Senate deal will include greater oversight of a proposed $500 billion loan fund for industries

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said talks on a massive $2 trillion economic relief package were on the verge of wrapping up after the Trump administration and Republicans had moved Democrats’ way on issues like aid to hospitals and unemployment insurance.

“Last night, I thought we were on the 5-yard line. Right now, we’re on the 2,” Schumer said on the floor. “Of the few outstanding issues, I don’t see any that can’t be overcome in the next few hours.”

Schumer spoke after what he said was a “very productive meeting” with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C. — whom President Donald Trump tapped earlier this month to be his new chief of staff — and White House legislative liaison Eric Ueland. Continue reading.

Mnuchin, Schumer say coronavirus rescue package deal very close

Both sides hope for a Tuesday vote.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that they are “very close” to an agreement on a nearly $2 trillion coronavirus economic rescue package, raising the possibility of a Senate vote on the legislation as early as Tuesday.

Following a series of late-night meetings in Schumer’s office in the Capitol — and a phone call with President Donald Trump to review the status of the discussions — Mnuchin and Schumer told reporters around midnight that they hope to have the final agreement in place in the morning.

“There are still documents that are going to be reviewed tonight and turned around, there’s still a couple of open issues, but I think we’re very hopeful this can be closed out tomorrow,” Mnuchin said. Continue reading.

How the House Democrats’ stimulus plan compares to the Senate’s

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled her bill, offering some distinct contrasts to the GOP version in the Senate.

Democrats are following through on their threat to go rogue with their own stimulus plan, unveiling a more than 1,400-page bill Monday night, packed with policy differences compared to the proposal Senate Republicans laid out.

After the GOP’s latest measure tanked twice during test votes in the Senate, House Democrats wrote a competing proposal to save the country from economic destruction at the hands of the coronavirus. The House measure would boost emergency funds for agencies, mandate “green” rules for airlines, eliminate a payroll tax suspension, kick in additional help for hospitals, schools and food banks, and more.

Here’s what House Democrats have included in their bill and how it contrasts with the latest proposal from Senate Republicans: Continue reading.

Congress reviewed its doomsday plans after 9/11. It never envisioned a threat like the coronavirus.

Washington Post logoSen. Richard J. Durbin sat in a leadership meeting Monday night in the same room he was in the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, with the location and today’s environment reminding him of that fateful day.

“Looking down the Mall, as the white black smoke came across from the Pentagon. I remember it well,” the Illinois Democrat said in an interview Tuesday.

Those attacks on Washington and New York — followed five weeks later by anthrax-laced letters sent to two senators — prompted a sweeping review of doomsday planning for how to keep Congress running in the event of a terrorist attack or other calamity. The past few days have sparked anew talk about the continuity of Congress but against an entirely different threat — a threat from within, literally, a virus that two members of the House announced late Wednesday that they had been diagnosed with, setting off a round of self-quarantining by other lawmakers.

House lawmakers indefinitely postpone return to Washington

The Hill logoHouse Democratic leaders will indefinitely postpone their return to Washington as a precautionary measure amid rising anxieties over the fast-moving coronavirus.

The House was scheduled to return to the Capitol on March 23, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told rank-and-file Democrats on a conference call Monday that they’ll postpone that date, according to several aides familiar with the leadership message.

“Hoyer said for sure not Monday, and he will update them about the rest of the week,” one aide said, noting that potential cancellations of domestic flights may also play a role. “This is all pending domestic travel situation too.” Continue reading.

Teetering economy sparks talk of second stimulus package

The Hill logoThe Senate returns to work Monday to take up the House-passed coronavirus relief package, but senators are already starting discussions about a second round of economic stimulus.

Lawmakers and aides expect an additional legislative package would include broader economic measures such as a tax rebate, a payroll tax cut, small-business grants and loans, expanded unemployment insurance and relief for the airlines and other hard-hit industries.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Sunday said he had spoken to several GOP committee chairmen “about the next steps,” such as helping Americans with financial challenges, efforts to shore up the economy and small business and bolstering the health care system. Continue reading.

Outside influences force Congress’ hand on coronavirus protocols

Shift on Capitol Hill followed other major venues and organizations announcing restrictions

The decision to suspend tours of the Capitol followed a chaotic cascade of announcements Wednesday from the World Health Organization officially labeling COVID-19 as a pandemic to Washington, D.C., declaring a state of emergency and barring large-scale gatherings to a congressman’s decision to share “sustained precautionary protocols.”

Earlier in the week, a growing roster of lawmakers who had been in contact with people confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus was not enough for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the two chambers’ sergeants-at-arms to close the Capitol to visitors and tours.

Lawmakers and health and safety officials on the Hill struggled to make the choice about limiting access to the Capitol as they weighed the threat of the coronavirus against the desire to keep the building open to the public. Continue reading.

Capitol comes under microscope even with new coronavirus guidelines

Updates include sterner warnings about travel, social distancing

Congressional staff received updated guidance Wednesday for disinfecting workspaces and restrictions on travel from the Office of the Attending Physician, as impacts of the coronavirus continue to reach Capitol Hill.

“These suggestions reflect best judgement of an evolving circumstance that may require revision as more experience with the SARS-CoV-2 infection is gained,” a “Dear Colleague” letter issued by the OAP reads, referring to the virus that causes COVID-19.

The letter instructs staff to ask visitors to congressional offices about any respiratory illness or symptoms when they arrive for meetings. Larger events should be conducted by video or teleconference, according to the OAP. Continue reading.

Republican lawmakers received ‘sobering’ briefing that most Americans will be exposed to coronavirus

AlterNet logoRepublican lawmakers were given what’s been described as a “sobering” briefing about the spread of coronavirus in the United States, in which they were told that the majority of Americans would be exposed to the virus within the next two years.

The Daily Beast reports that Rajeev Venkayya, the president of the Global Vaccine Business Unit at Tokyo-based pharmaceutical giant Takeda, told lawmakers that it will be vital to provide “widespread access to medical care,” as the virus will spread rapidly through the population.

He emphasized that being exposed to coronavirus is not the same as being infected, although The Daily Beast notes that “the comment appeared to go further than the most recent public warnings from the CDC” about the spread of the disease. Continue reading.

Unsettling day provides little coronavirus guidance for Congress

Leaders, officials disagree on who makes the call to change security and health protocols on the Hill

On Monday, as Congress returned to the Capitol with a rapidly growing roster of members exposed to the new coronavirus, leaders and high-ranking officials could not agree on who has the ultimate authority to change security and health protocols on the Hill, where thousands of lawmakers, staffers and visitors interact every day.

At the end of a remarkably unsettling day, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Monday that despite several lawmakers being under self-quarantine after coming in contact with people infected with the coronavirus, there will not be changes to the House schedule and legislative work will continue as planned — at least for now.

“At the present time, there is no reason for us not to continue with our vital legislative work in the Capitol,” Pelosi wrote in a Monday evening “Dear Colleague” letter.  Continue reading.