The House is in a committee work week and will meet in a pro forma session at noon.
The Senate met at 10 a.m. and will resume consideration of the nomination of Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and will vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the nomination of Kristen M. Clarke to be an Assistant Attorney General and will then vote on final confirmation. The Senate will then return to work on S.1260, United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021. The scope of the bill, the end result of input from at least six Senate committees, reflects the many fronts in the U.S.-China rivalry, as well as the urgency of a global semiconductor shortage that has clobbered automakers, home appliance manufacturers and phone producers. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) remained optimistic as of Monday night that the upper chamber will be able to pass the measure by the end of this week prior to the Senate being in recess next week. If they can’t finish by Friday work on the legislation will be paused until the week of June 7th.
The prospects for a bipartisan infrastructure deal seemed more remote Monday, as Senate Republicans alleged that the White House had agreed to narrow the scope of its $2.2 trillion plan, only to reverse course days later. The dispute centers on President Joe Biden’s proposal to package new investments in roads, bridges and pipes with billions of dollars to help children and families. Republicans say Biden agreed earlier this month to seek what they describe as social spending as part of another legislative effort, only to have his top aides take the opposite approach during the latest round of talks with Republican Senators Friday. Republicans contend that the White House changed course once both sides began trading counteroffers. By Friday, the Biden administration had agreed to slim down its $2.2 trillion plan by about $500 billion, largely by shifting some of its initial spending to proposals already under consideration in the Senate. Otherwise, the administration stood firm on the scope of its initial jobs blueprint and the tax increases that the president initially proposed to finance it. The latest state of play has Senate Democrats settling on an endgame for their bipartisan infrastructure negotiations: let them continue through the week after the Memorial Day recess, then forge ahead on their own if there’s no deal. Senate Democrats are privately looking at the week of June 7th, when their chamber reconvenes after Memorial Day, as the last-ditch period for finding common ground. If the two parties are still as far apart on a deal by the end of that week as they are now, Democrats will likely decide to move forward by themselves. Senate Majority Leader Schumer has begun meeting with Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, as well as the Senate parliamentarian about the reconciliation process to understand his tactical options. There will likely be a dual path where Schumer sets up the Budget Committee to be ready to go if talks likely fall apart. In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) tentatively set July 4th as the date she wants infrastructure legislation approved in her chamber.
President Joe Biden will mark the first anniversary of George Floyd’s death Tuesday with a private Oval Office meeting with members of Floyd’s family as congressional negotiators seek a deal on a bill named after Floyd aimed at reforming policing practices across the nation. Biden had said last month that he hoped to mark the solemn occasion by signing the policing bill, but the legislation remains stalled in the Senate as Republicans and Democrats try to hammer out a compromise on its provisions. White House officials have said they hope the meeting Tuesday will keep the momentum going. While in Washington, the Floyd family will also meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Karen Bass, both California Democrats, as well as other members of Congress.
