The House returns starting at 2 p.m., with votes expected after 6:30 p.m. Following one-minute speeches, the House is expected to consider fourteen bills listed for consideration under suspension of the Rules, mostly bills related to health care and mental health including H.R. 2862 – Campaign to Prevent Suicide Act.
The Senate convened at 10 a.m. and following Leader remarks, the Senate proceeded to Executive Session and resumed consideration of the nomination of Andrea Joan Palm, to be Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, post-cloture. The Senate will then take up the nomination of Cynthia Minette Marten, of California, to be Deputy Secretary of Education.
At 10 a.m. Dr. Anthony Fauci and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky and other officials began testifying before the Senate HELP Committee about the government’s efforts to combat COVID. During testimony Dr. Fauci said he’s “confident” that if the U.S. continues vaccinating people at its current rate, the country will soon be able to return to some normalcy. “Based on experience thus far in this country and globally, I feel confident that if we continue to vaccinate people at the rate that we’re doing, that we will very soon have a situation where we will have so few infections in this country, we will begin to return to normality that all of us desire so much.” Fauci’s remarks come as the U.S. vaccination rate has steadily declined in the last three weeks.
In major action today, beginning at 10 a.m. the Senate Rules Committee began marking up S.1, The For the People Act. Senate Democrats are moving ahead this week with the sweeping proposal to rewrite US election laws — a longshot bid meant to counteract the voter restrictions Republicans have continually passed at the state level. The For the People Act, a version of which has already passed the Democratic-controlled House, faces steep odds in the Senate. The legislation rewrites federal campaign finance laws, set out new ethics requirements for the President and Supreme Court justices and makes broad changes in election administration, from registration to early voting. It has garnered no Republican support, ensuring it won’t overcome the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster fight. And it has been met with hesitation by some Democrats, including West Virginia Senator Joe Machin, who have shown little appetite to gut the filibuster and propel the bill forward. The March full Rules Committee hearing featured 10 witnesses including Former U.S. Attorney General and current Chair of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee Eric Holder. Holder Testimony.
This afternoon, President Joe Biden will meet virtually with a bipartisan group of governors to talk about their COVID-19 vaccination programs. The president will have a virtual call at 1 p.m. with Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Maine’s Janet Mills, Ohio’s Mike DeWine, Utah’s Spencer Cox, Minnesota’s Tim Walz and New Mexico’s Michelle Lujan Grisham about what’s worked in each state. President Biden will announce additional efforts to get America vaccinated and meet his goal for 70% of the U.S. adult population to have one vaccine shot by July 4th so that life can start to look closer to normal. White House FACT SHEET.
Adam S. Olsen, Washington, D.C.
