Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are voicing their displeasure at the idea of returning to Capitol Hill next week, when lawmakers are scheduled to come back following a nearly monthlong coronavirus-caused recess.
“I have no interest in going back now. How do you get there? Train? Plane?” House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey told C-SPAN Monday of returning to Congress on April 20.
Lowey (D-NY) told the network that she “certainly” did not expect the House of Representatives to return next Monday, saying, “I don’t think it’s possible.”
“Unless it’s safe, I think we are better off doing our work, as we have been doing, passing bills by unanimous consent,” she continued, referencing a rule that allows bills in Congress to pass as long as no present members voice objections.
Senate Rules Committee Chairman Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) echoed Lowey’s view that returning to Congress appears “unlikely.”
“There’s all these cities under a closure order till April 30 or so. I think it’s unlikely, but we may have to figure out a way to come back,” Blunt, a member of Senate GOP leadership, told reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday.
Blunt was present in the Capitol for a brief session.
House and Senate leadership appear amenable to the idea of extending the Congressional recess on both sides of the aisle.
Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-SD), the No. 2 Senate Republican, told Politico that plans for lawmakers to return to work are fluid.
“As of right now, I think that comeback day was going to be that April 20 time frame. But that’s all up to the leader and whether or not by then, hopefully, at least, this thing is stabilized. A lot of it will depend on what’s needed. We’re prepared to do whatever it takes. If the country needs us to respond in some way, we will,” Thune told the outlet.
During a conference call Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi maintained her opposition to remote voting, which would allow members to vote from the safety of their homes, but indicated that she wouldn’t be forcing anyone to return if it impacted their safety.
“I’ll be very frank with you, we don’t want anybody coming back at any time that might not be healthy for them, but we are right now concerned about the health of the American people,” she told reporters during the call.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer made similar remarks while avoiding making a firm statement on an exact date when lawmakers should return, saying only that the Senate would need to return “relatively soon” to work on the next coronavirus relief package.
Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said during a conference call with reporters Thursday that he was remaining on his Iowa farm, where he had already quarantined for nine days.
“Probably stay here for another 10 days and maybe longer if the Senate doesn’t go back into session on April 20, but like everybody else, I continue my work only from a different setting,” the Iowa Republican said, signaling that the date could be in flux.
“We’re supposed to go back to Washington on April 20, I think that’s unrealistic,” Sen. Angus King (I-Vt.) told the Maine State Chamber of Commerce during an appearance on their podcast earlier this month, after both houses of Congress returned home for the recess.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said in an interview last week with Politico that not only does he not want to return to Congress, other members have “decided they’re not going to get back on an airplane.”
“Think about all of the things you have to put into that calculation [of returning]. No. 1, what is the status of where you are sheltering? I don’t know if that’s going to be the peak infection period for my state of Illinois, or will it have turned a corner?” he said.
“Secondly, what are the logistics of returning to Washington? Will there be airplanes if you want to get back?”
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Lawmakers really don't want to come back to Congress next week - New York Post
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