A busy day on Capitol Hill today on both sides of the dome. The Senate convened at 11 a.m. and at noon, the Senate will resume considering Jennifer Granholm as President Joe Biden’s Energy Secretary. The Senate voted 67-32 Wednesday afternoon to end debate on the nomination of the former Michigan governor teeing up a final vote on her confirmation for today. If confirmed, Granholm would be only the second woman to hold the position in a non-acting capacity, Hazel O’Leary was the first under President Bill Clinton. The Senate is also expected to vote to invoke cloture on the Miguel Cardonas nomination for Education secretary at 1:30 p.m. At 10:00 a.m., the Senate Committee on Finance will have a hearing to consider the nomination of Katherine Tai to be United States Trade Representative.
Today, the House meets at 12:00 p.m. for legislative business. There will be up to fifteen “One Minutes” per side. At 10 a.m. the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch will hear from Acting Capitol Police chief Yogananda Pittman and the new House sergeant-at-arms Timothy Blodgett on the massive January 6th security failures. At 2: 15 p.m. Democratic Leaders of the House and Senate will hold a press conference ahead of House passage of H.R. 5 – The Equality Act. The House is expected to approve the Equality Act which would enshrine legal protections for LGBTQ Americans by amending existing civil rights laws to prevent businesses and institutions from discriminating against people based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill first passed the House in 2019, but was not considered by the then-Republican controlled Senate and faced opposition from the Trump administration. Last year, the Supreme Court issued a ruling stating that the protections guaranteed by the 1964 Civil Rights Act on the basis of sex extended to discrimination against LGBTQ Americans. The Equality Act would explicitly set those protections for people based on orientation and gender identity, as opposed to having those safeguards included under the umbrella term of “sex.” According to polls analyzed by FiveThirtyEight, President Biden’s most popular executive order thus far was his order prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity earning 83% in support.
The House will also complete general debate of H.R. 803 – Protecting America’s Wilderness and Public Lands Act after last votes and will debate amendments to H.R. 803 on Friday.
House Democrats plan to pass their $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill on Friday as lawmakers try to prevent unemployment lifelines from expiring next month. “The American people strongly support this bill, and we are moving swiftly to see it enacted into law,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, (D-Maryland), said in a statement posted to Twitter. Capitol Hill waited Thursday for the Senate parliamentarian to weigh in on whether the chamber’s rules would permit Democrats to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour as part of the relief package. The decision by Elizabeth MacDonough, the chief Senate parliamentarian, will set the stage for an intense debate among Democrats about how to proceed on the contentious provision. Democrats, who cannot afford to lose a single vote among their own ranks to pass the bill in an evenly divided Senate, have split over the push to raise the federal minimum wage, which would boost it to $15 an hour over four years. Democratic and Republican aides completed arguments before the Senate Parliamentarian yesterday over whether a minimum wage boost and other matters can be included in the relief package under budget reconciliation procedures. House Budget Chairman John Yarmuth, (D-Kentucky), has been skeptical that a minimum wage increase will meet the test. But he said Wednesday it will remain in the draft bill the House plans to vote on Friday. “In the House, we’re going to leave it in, regardless of what she decides today,” he said referring to the parliamentarian in a CNN interview. “We’re going to pass it with a $15 minimum wage and let the Senate work its will.” In a Morning Consult poll this week, 76 percent of voters said they back the stimulus package, including 52 percent who said they “strongly” support the bill. Only 17 percent of voters said they oppose it.
Adam S. Olsen, Washington, D.C.
