Senate reaches deal to vote on Jan. 6 commission and get out of town
By Alexander Bolton - 05/28/21 11:31 AM EDT
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and a group of Republican conservatives have struck a deal to allow a Friday vote on a bill setting up a bipartisan Jan. 6 commission, which will let senators leave Washington for the Memorial Day recess early Friday afternoon.
The deal, which was approved by the entire Senate after being hotlined, will postpone the final procedural votes and the final up-or-down vote on a bill to improve U.S. competitiveness with China until next month.
But it means that Republicans won’t be able to delay consideration of the China bill into the holiday weekend, which may have forced Democrats to vote on the Jan. 6 commission bill in the middle of the night, when few people would be paying attention.
“It’s something we proposed. It assures a vote on the Jan. 6 commission in the next hour, it assures it occurs in the light of day, not at 3 a.m. in the morning,” Schumer announced on the Senate floor.
“It assures that the vote on the U.S. Competition Act will take place when we return in June,” he added, referring to the U.S.-China competitiveness bill.
The deal ensures that lawmakers who had scheduled overseas trips and other business will not have to rearrange their schedules.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/555949-senate-reaches-deal-to-vote-on-jan-6-commission-and-get-out-of-town