House Chaplain Kibben devotes her opening House prayer today to Surfside, Florida building collapse victims and the recovery efforts: "Almighty God, in the aftermath of the disaster in Miami, FL, we commend to your care and protection the ongoing search and rescue efforts."
Kibben: "We fervently pray that you would deliver all those who are yet clinging to life beneath the magnitude of the wreckage. Preserve their spirit even as they struggle with overwhelming fear for their lives."
Kibben: "Grant them a glimpse of hope, even a miracle, that they would soon emerge from the terrifying prison of panic and distress."
House Chaplain Kibben prayer today on #Surfside victims
House NOW debating legislation to remove Confederate statues from US Capitol and replace the bust in the Old Supreme Court chamber of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, who authored the Dred Scott decision, with one of Thurgood Marshall, the 1st African American Supreme Court Justice.
House Administration Cmte Chair Lofgren:"It is long past time to remove from a place of honor in our nation's Capitol the statues & busts of those who favored war against the United States in support of a so-called government founded on a cornerstone of racism & white supremacy."
Speaker Pelosi: "Removing these statues will not erase the stain and that of other racist acts in our history, nor will it erase the racism that exists in our country today. But it is an important and necessary step."
345-67: House passed legislation tonight to boost science and technology research for the US to better compete with China by authorizing $78 billion over five years for the National Science Foundation.
351-68: House also passed a bill authorizing $50 billion over five years for the Energy Department's science programs including for the country's national labs.
Senate passed its own $250 billion science and technology research bill (USICA) aimed at countering China earlier this month on 68-32 bipartisan vote.
House NOW debating the repeal of 1991 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iraq.
House Foreign Affairs Chair Meeks (D-NY) supporting 1991 AUMF repeal: "By voting this legislation out of the House, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to reclaiming our authority over war powers."
House Foreign Affairs Ranking McCaul (R-TX) supporting 1991 AUMF repeal: "This specific point of this law was accomplished. Therefore, there's no reason to leave it on the books."
Empty chairs and empty tables in the US Senate this morning.
9:15am: Still awaiting for the Senator scheduled to gavel in today's 9am pro forma session. No votes are scheduled today during the Senate's 2-week break over the July 4th holiday.
McConnell responds this morning to President Biden's Saturday infrastructure deal statement: “The President has appropriately delinked a potential bipartisan infrastructure bill from the massive, unrelated tax-and-spend plans that Democrats want to pursue on a partisan basis."
McConnell: "Now I am calling on President Biden to engage Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi and make sure they follow his lead."
McConnell: "Unless Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi walk-back their threats that they will refuse to send the president a bipartisan infrastructure bill unless they also separately pass trillions of dollars for unrelated tax hikes,..."
Pelosi: “Congress looks forward to receiving and reviewing the formal notification of this operation under the War Powers Act and to receiving additional briefings from the Administration.” speaker.gov/newsroom/62721…
Senate Middle East oversight panel chair Murphy (D-CT): “I expect to be briefed tomorrow by the White House on the U.S. military airstrikes along the Iraq-Syria border and look forward to hearing more about the circumstances.”
Murphy (D-CT): “My concern is that the pace of activity directed at U.S. forces and the repeated retaliatory strikes against Iranian proxy forces are starting to look like what would qualify as a pattern of hostilities under the War Powers Act.” murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press…