Tag: U.S. Senate

Bipartisan coronavirus relief talks stuck on liability waiver

Liability shield for employers still a work in progress; direct aid to households also a sticking point

A group of House and Senate lawmakers from both sides of the aisle has fleshed out details of their $908 billion coronavirus relief plan, except for the two thorniest issues: business liability protections and state and local aid.

A six-page summary of the group’s proposal circulated Wednesday morning said they had an “agreement in principle” to provide $160 billion in direct aid to states and localities and indemnify employers in some way from coronavirus-related lawsuits.

But that agreement didn’t solidify into finalized language Wednesday as negotiators had hoped. Continue reading.

Lawmakers face hurdles to COVID relief deal

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Negotiators in the House and Senate are racing to finish a massive end-of-year deal to fund the government and provide help to workers and families struggling through a worsening pandemic.

Last-minute sticking points are threatening to push the talks into the weekend or next week and may scuttle an agreement all together despite momentum for a deal that has been building since last week.

Congress is expected to pass a one-week stopgap measure as soon as Wednesday to keep the government funded through Dec. 18. Without such action, the government could shut down on Saturday. Continue reading.

Pelosi bullish on COVID-19 relief: ‘We cannot leave without it’

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Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) expressed optimism Friday that the parties will come together to secure a coronavirus relief package before Congress leaves Washington for the winter holidays.

Addressing reporters in the Capitol, the Speaker said party negotiators still have a number of disagreements to iron out to win such an agreement, but indicated the sides are making steady progress and all but guaranteed that a bipartisan deal will be sealed in the coming days.

“We’ll take the time we need and we must get it done,” Pelosi said. “We cannot leave without it.” Continue reading.

McConnell in tough position as House eyes earmark return

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Plans by House Democrats to bring back earmarks at the start of the next Congress have put Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in a tough spot.

McConnell, a longtime member of the Appropriations Committee, isn’t personally opposed to bringing back earmarks, but he is risk averse and doesn’t want to spark a fight with Tea Party conservatives and Republicans considering White House runs in 2024, say GOP lawmakers.

The GOP Senate leader has been coy when asked about the topic. Continue reading.

Anticipating Senate bottlenecks, Biden races to fill agency jobs

The president-elect is lining up appointees to fill lower-level jobs that don’t require running the gauntlet on Capitol Hill.

Now that he’s chosen a big chunk of his Cabinet nominees, President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team is focusing increasingly on selecting candidates for government positions that do not require Senate confirmation.

Concerned about Republicans slow-walking confirmation hearings for Cabinet appointees and hollowed-out federal agencies, Biden and his aides are eager to place mid- to lower-level officials across the federal government, particularly in national security roles, to ensure his administration can begin to enact his agenda immediately, according to three people familiar with the situation.

By quickly selecting candidates for slots that don’t require Senate confirmation, such as deputy assistant secretaries, the transition team also can try to ensure that many of those hired can obtain security clearances by the time Biden takes office. Continue reading.

How Mitch McConnell’s do nothing Republicans are killing you: Robert Reich

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The Senate adjourned and left town without even trying to pass a COVID disaster relief bill. By the time they return on November 30, based on current trends, an additional estimated 16,000 Americans will have died from COVID-19.

We pay these elected officials to keep us safe, and they’ve failed us. To them I ask: How much death and suffering must the American people endure before you act?

Remember: House Democrats passed a comprehensive relief bill all the way back in May. 

You, Mitch McConnell, have refused to lift a finger for months, and Senate Republicans have been happy to follow your lead. Continue reading.

Rubio Threatens Senate Blockade Of Biden Cabinet Picks

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said on Wednesday that the Senate should stop the tradition of granting deference to Cabinet nominees offered by President-elect Joe Biden. Rubio justified his position by claiming that Democrats “have been just so unfair” to Donald Trump.

“There’ll be a lot less deference given to presidential appointments because there was zero deference given to President Trump’s appointments,” Rubio told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.

Rubio added, “There’s just no way that Biden’s nominations are going to be treated like they traditionally have been treated under previous presidents, simply because the atmosphere in the Senate has changed.” Continue reading.

As Grassley Tests Positive, Virus Threatens to Stall Work in Congress

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Two of the oldest members of Congress, Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa and Representative Don Young of Alaska, now have the virus, underscoring the risks on Capitol Hill.

WASHINGTON — The oldest Republican in the Senate tested positive for it. The oldest member of the House was hospitalized with it. And several more lawmakers have announced they have either been diagnosed with the coronavirus or are quarantining after exposure to it, in what is threatening to become a mini-outbreak on Capitol Hill that has already disrupted the business of Congress.

Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, 87, on Tuesday became the latest lawmaker to be affected, announcing that he had tested positive. His absence helped to temporarily derail the confirmation of President Trump’s nominee for the Federal Reserve Board and shattered Mr. Grassley’s pride and joy, the longest consecutive voting streak in Senate history.

His diagnosis came the day after Representative Don Young of Alaska, also 87, disclosed that he had been hospitalized over the weekend after what he described as a particularly brutal bout with Covid-19. The twin announcements from two men whose gender and age put them at peak vulnerability to being killed by the virus underscored the risks that lawmakers are operating under as Congress continues to meet. Continue reading.

How To Help Win the 2 Georgia Senate Runoff Elections

Joe Biden has won the presidency, and the Democrats held the House. But if the Republicans keep the majority in the Senate, we all know what Mitch McConnell will do — he’ll obstruct everything.

We know he won’t allow any progressive legislation to pass. We know there is an excellent chance he will block every judge we want to put on the bench and every reason to believe he’ll make confirming Joe Biden’s cabinet a complete nightmare. The only way to prevent this nightmare is to make sure that Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff win the runoff elections and become Georgia’s new Senators.

Neither David Perdue nor Kelly Loeffler were able to get more than 50% of the vote on November 3rd, so that’s a good start. But runoff elections are marked by low turnout — its anyone’s opportunity to win these seats. Whichever side is more motivated to get out and vote will win these seats. Continue reading.

Sullivan wins reelection in Alaska, giving Republicans 50 seats in Senate

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Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) on Wednesday was projected to have won a second term representing Alaska, securing 50 seats in the Senate for Republicans in the next Congress.

CNN and NBC News both called the race shortly before 10 a.m. EST.

The projection confirms that control of the Senate will come down to two Jan. 5 runoffs in Georgia, one between Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) and the Rev. Raphael Warnock (D) and the other between Sen. David Perdue (R) and Jon Ossoff (D). Continue reading.