The Senate reconvened at 10:00 A.M. and is continuing its work on nominations. Today, the Senate will consider the nominations of Alvaro M. Bedoya to be a Federal Trade Commissioner, Judith DelZoppo Pryor to be First Vice President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States and January Contreras to be Assistant Secretary for Family Support, Department of Health and Human Services. Last night, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) filed cloture on what is slated to be the legislative vehicle for a fresh batch of Covid preparedness funding. That’s not a guarantee of fast action, but it is a signal of optimism for the ongoing talks. The Senate is scrambling to reach an agreement on a $15 billion Covid-19 aid bill before members leave for a two-week Easter break at the end of next week. Democrats say the U.S. is running out of funding for vaccines, testing and treatment for Covid-19, and the Biden administration has warned that the lack of pandemic money comes at a critical moment in the pandemic. Still, Democratic negotiators will need to overcome challenges from their Republican counterparts who are demanding that previously allocated but unspent Covid money be used for further pandemic funding. Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah), the lead negotiator for Republicans, said Tuesday he doesn’t yet have the support of nine other Republican members who are needed for a deal, while noting, “We’re making progress and hopefully we’ll get there soon.” He also insisted that the money be taken from one of the previous Covid aid bills.
The House reconvened at 10:00 A.M. and is set to consider nine bills under suspension of the Rules from the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. At 1 p.m. the House Rules Committee will hold a business meeting on the MORE Act, which would remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances, and the Affordable Insulin Now Act.
