The House convened at 10 a.m. and is working on H.R. 2467 – PFAS Action Act of 2021. The legislation led by Michigan Representatives Debbie Dingell, a Democrat and Fred Upton, a Republican, was approved 33-20 in the Energy and Commerce Committee and it tackles the contamination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, by designating the chemicals as hazardous substances, which kick-starts federal cleanup standards and may help reduce Americans’ exposure to toxic forever chemicals in air, water and consumer products.
The Senate convened at 10:30 a.m. with first votes expected at 11:30 a.m. and then 2:30 p.m. The Senate will first finish work on the nomination of Bonnie D. Jenkins to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security and the nomination of Jennifer Ann Abruzzo to be General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. Around 2:30pm, the Senate will vote on Calendar #100, H.R.3684, INVEST in America Act, the vehicle for the bipartisan infrastructure framework.
Senate Republicans are expected to block the vote this afternoon to start debate on the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, as they push for more time to strike a deal with Democrats and write the legislation. But lawmakers said their negotiations will intensify over the next few days with the goal of trying again to advance the measure by early next week. A group of centrist Republicans in the bipartisan negotiating group called on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) Tuesday to postpone the vote to begin consideration of their legislation until Monday, at which point they say there would be enough Republican support to take up the bill, which is estimated to cost $1.2 trillion over eight years or $973 billion over five. Schumer on Monday evening pushed the legislative process forward — even though the bill has yet to be written — by filing a motion to proceed with a shell bill that he can later swap the infrastructure text into. To invoke cloture and trigger hours of debate in the Senate, Schumer needs the support of 60 senators today in a chamber that is divided 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats. Meanwhile, progressives and key House Democrats are growing increasingly impatient with the bipartisan talks, with some even saying that they hope that the deal falls through. In a meeting with House Democrats on Tuesday morning, Speaker Nancy Pelosi hammered Senate Republicans and accused them of attempting to derail the bipartisan talks.
President Joe Biden is set to fly to Cincinnati this afternoon to promote his economic agenda and participate in a town hall aired on CNN, even as a bipartisan infrastructure agreement he brokered faces its first formal test in the Senate. Mr. Biden will tour a union training center, the I.B.E.W./N.E.C.A. Electrical Training Center, where he is scheduled to give remarks making the case that his $4 trillion economic plan will create high-paying union jobs. The president will then head to Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, where he will participate in the town hall airing at 8 p.m. Eastern. Mr. Biden will field questions about the impact of the $1.9 trillion economic aid bill he signed into law in March and about the two legislative components of his broader economic agenda.
Adam S. Olsen, Washington, D.C.
