Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was first to solidify the return date, announcing Monday that his chamber will “honor our constitutional duty” and conduct business in person after being on an extended recess since March 26.
“We’re going to take whatever safeguards the Capitol physician recommends that we engage in and we believe we can do that safely,” McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a telephone interview Monday.
“Look, it doesn’t make sense for the Senate to sit on the sidelines while a lot of other people are going to work everyday and trying to get us through this,” he said.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) made a similar announcement Monday afternoon on a caucus call with House Democrats.
“Nancy and I have talked a couple of times today … We have decided we will come back on the 4th.”
But the announcement was met with almost sudden resistance, as several Democrats spoke up on the call, raising concerns about the safety of returning while many of their states remain on lockdown with strict social distancing in place.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said returning next week would be “dangerous,” according to multiple Democrats on the call.
Other members also spoke up including Reps. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), Susan Wild (D-Pa.) and Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), with some asking how they were expected to take care of their families — many without childcare at home — and return to Washington for an extended stay.
The House went into recess on March 14 after passing the second in a series of coronavirus relief bills in the wee hours of the morning. But legislating long-distance has proven difficult for both chambers.
It took two weeks for Congress to pass a fourth round of coronavirus aid, an effort complicated by the ability of any one lawmaker to derail speedy passage of bills during brief House and Senate pro forma sessions. And House leaders had to call many members back to Washington to pass the last two rescue bills, despite concerns about spreading the virus.
Hoyer told House Democrats that lawmakers will participate in one vote on Monday evening, coming to the chamber in groups rather than all at once to limit contact and maintain social distancing.
The No. 2 Democrat added that the House could be in session two weeks but he expects limited floor activity during that time, although some committees will meet in larger rooms that allow members to spread out enough to maintain social distancing.
Hoyer and Pelosi also announced plans to move ahead with a rules change to allow proxy voting, with or without Republican support.
But the modifications and cautionary notes weren’t enough to satisfy some Democrats, who were furious at the announcement. Chiefs of staff privately complained they were given no warning ahead of time, their usual weekly call with Pelosi’s office having been canceled Monday.
And several lawmakers and aides said the outspoken Democrats represented only a fraction of those angered by the decision to return.
Democrats described the move as rash, saying there has been no plan communicated with them to not only protect themselves but their staffers, Capitol police, support staff and press.
And House appropriators were particularly spooked after a call with the Capitol physician, Dr. Brian Monahan, earlier Monday. Monahan told members of the panel that there was still a lot of work to do before Congress could return to full capacity.
Monahan said it could take “years” for Congress to return to normal, according to members on the call. In the meantime, it’s not safe for members to conduct business and hearings as usual and staff should be limited and not all be in the office at the same time.
But there is no umbrella return policy as of yet, with top staffers saying they have yet to receive guidance on how to coordinate their offices beginning next week.
The decision for leaders in both chambers to forge ahead comes even as Washington remains under a stay-at-home under until May 15. The deadly virus has also hit the Capitol complex — multiple staffers and lawmakers have been diagnosed with coronavirus, in addition to nearly a dozen construction workers renovating one of the House office buildings used by hundreds of members and their staff.
And confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths continue to climb in the region. More than 180 have died and over 3,800 people have been infected in Washington. Coronavirus has claimed more than 1,600 lives and almost 37,000 have been infected in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. And D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has left open the option of extending that order if coronavirus cases don’t start to decline for a consecutive two-week period.
“There’s a lot of work that I think has to be done, in order for us to get to regular order,” Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.), whose Queens-based district has been devastated by the coronavirus, said in an interview. “How do we lay out the Capitol so that everybody can remain safe?”
“I’m ready to go in on May 4 but we’ve got to make sure that we’re paying attention to the data and the science,” Meeks said.
Still, other Democrats had different concerns on the call Monday, with Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) echoing worries of fellow vulnerable freshmen that the work lawmakers were doing wasn’t visible enough to the public.
Pelosi quipped in response that members have to be both “work horses and show horses,” according to Democrats on the call.
Senate leaders have not experienced near the level of outrage as in the House. But the upper chamber also plans to modify its usual routines in some ways.
Asked if the Senate would resume hearings and other businesses as usual, McConnell said: “We’ll let you know how we’re going to handle these things but I’m convinced we can do it consistent with the guidelines that the Capitol physician will give us to keep operating safely.”
In the Senate, floor time is more of a factor than the House because of the chamber’s confirmation responsibilities. McConnell has also repeatedly vowed that the pandemic will not affect his plans to confirm as many of President Donald Trump’s judges as possible the rest of the year.
Congress’ return comes as congressional leaders prepare to do battle on the next coronavirus relief package, legislation Pelosi has said she wants to move in the coming weeks.
But McConnell has signaled the next response to the coronavirus won’t just center on Democrats’ and some Republicans’ request for money to send to reeling states and localities. In an interview Monday, McConnell said he will also “insist” Congress limit the liabilities of health care workers, business owners and employees from lawsuits as they reopen in the coming weeks and months.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called on McConnell to use the Senate’s return as a way to begin oversight of the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic and the nearly $3 trillion Congress has passed in coronavirus relief.
“There must be public Senate hearings, at a minimum, to examine why the United States still does not have adequate testing and why some lenders in the [Small Business Administration’s] Paycheck Protection Program have prioritized the applications of their larger and wealthier clients to the detriment of smaller businesses that have oftentimes suffered greater hardship,” Schumer said in a statement.
