In its first full week back since adjourning in late March as the coronavirus pandemic was surging, the Senate failed to override a veto of a resolution to limit President Donald Trump’s ability to wage war with Iran and approved three noncontroversial nominations.

The House was out last week and is expected back next week. The House last met about two weeks ago when the chamber approved a $484 billion coronavirus relief package that included $321 billion for the Small Business Administration’s recently depleted Paycheck Protection Program.

Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen were back in the nation’s capital for votes. But while they were in the Capitol complex and voted in person, as required under Senate rules, they attended hearings via videoconference from their offices.  

According to their offices, they took precautions, followed guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Senate physician, practiced social distancing and wore masks in public spaces.

War powers

Both Nevada senators voted in favor of the resolution to rein in Trump on Iran, which came up short of the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto. The Senate voted 49 to 40 with seven Republicans voting with Democrats to support the measure.

Both Cortez Masto and Rosen stressed the role of Congress in making war policy.

“When making serious decisions about our national security, the President has a duty to consult with Congress to ensure he is respecting our system of checks and balances and allow decisions to be publicly considered and debated,” Cortez Masto said in a statement provided by her office. “By failing to override President Trump’s veto of the Senate’s bipartisan War Powers Resolution, some of my colleagues are relinquishing their Constitutionally mandated oversight responsibilities and opening the door for potentially dangerous consequences in lives lost and financial harm to our country.” 

The resolution, which would require authorization by Congress for Trump to engage in hostilities with Iran, was prompted by the president’s decision in January to target Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike. Soleimani, who was designated as a terrorist since 2007, led the Iranian Quds Force, which was established to advance the Islamic revolution outside of Iran’s borders.

“Senator Rosen recognizes Iran as the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, and she is committed to ensuring that Iran and its proxies cannot export violence around the globe,” Rosen’s office said. “While the Senator firmly believes that General Soleimani was a murderous individual whose loss the world should not mourn, Senator Rosen voted today – as she did several months ago – to ensure that non-defensive military actions only take place with the express authorization of Congress.”

The Senate initially voted on the resolution in February.

Trump announced the veto on Wednesday. In a release, he called the resolution “insulting” adding that it was “introduced by the Democrats as part of a strategy to win an election on November 3 by dividing the Republican Party.”

Trump claimed authority to defend the nation under the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 and Article 2 of the Constitution, which he cited as justification for the Soleimani attack.

“The resolution implies that the President’s constitutional authority to use military force is limited to defense of the United States and its forces against imminent attack,” Trump said. “That is incorrect. We live in a hostile world of evolving threats, and the Constitution recognizes that the President must be able to anticipate our adversaries’ next moves and take swift and decisive action in response. That’s what I did!”

Hearings

Rosen and Cortez Masto participated in a handful of hearings last week.

At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Tuesday on the state of the aviation industry in the wake of the pandemic, Rosen said that the travel-and tourism-reliant state is expecting an economic blow.

She said in 2019, McCarran International Airport saw more than 50 million passengers, generated nearly $35 billion in economic output, supported approximately a quarter of a million jobs and was responsible for 18 percent of Southern Nevada’s gross domestic product. 

“In the wake of the pandemic, travel has been down precipitously,” she added.

Todd Hauptli, president of the American Association of Airport Executives, who testified at the hearing, said he’d been in contact with the airport director at McCarran who said the airport would be down at least 50 percent in revenue over 2019. 

Rosen also noted that travel has been down 96 percent “in the last several weeks” at the Reno-Tahoe Airport. 

“This travel slowdown means job losses, not only in our hotels and convention halls but at the airports themselves, including places we might not immediately think of, such as the numerous  small business retailers and restaurants that operate inside our airports, ” she said. 

Analysts believe the state is facing a $1 billion to $2 billion budget shortfall for the next fiscal year.

Huaptli said airport operators are looking for $10 billion more in aid in the next coronavirus relief package.

Rosen also appeared at a hearing Thursday held by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on the National Institutes of Health’s Shark Tank program, which is a competition for $500 billion in funding to expedite the development of large-scale COVID-19 testing. 

Rosen asked NIH Director Francis Collins if antibody testing would be included. Currently, the program is only focused on COVID-19 diagnostics. 

Collins said other policies have brought antibody tests, developed by the private sector, to the market so there didn’t seem to be the need for it in Shark Tank. He added it could be a possibility if a test could do both. 

She also raised concerns that the Shark Tank program could have the effect of preventing cooperation as biotech companies look to develop proprietary tests to win the competition. Collins said that that is something that they will guard against. 

Rosen also talked about a bill that she helped introduce with Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio that would direct the NIH to conduct a nationwide study of the health outcomes and symptoms of COVID-19, including long-term impact on lung function and immune response, and the impact of treatments. The findings would be released publicly every 3 months for the first two years and then every 6 months thereafter.

“It’s going to be reporting to us every three months and six months...so we can point the scientists, and us as policymakers, with data into some better directions as we collect that,” Rosen said.

Cortez Masto participated in a Banking Committee hearing Tuesday on the nomination of Brian Miller to be Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery at the Treasury Department.

The Nevada Democrat’s skepticism of Miller’s independence from the White House was evident in her line of questions. Miller currently serves as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Associate Counsel in the Office of White House Counsel. 

His nomination comes as the president has reshuffled the makeup of inspectors general corps, the federal government’s in-house watchdogs, including demoting the acting Pentagon inspector general, Glenn Fine, who had been poised to take over the newly-created Pandemic Response Accountability Committee. 

Cortez Masto asked Miller whether he would “immediately notify Congress” if the White House asked him to withhold information. She also asked whether he would report it if the White House wanted to show preference with CARES Act funding to states for political gain, or if he would seek presidential approval before investigating contracts.

Miller said he would notify Congress in the first two instances and would not seek White House approval to investigate contracts.

“Too many people are suffering and we are looking for people to stand up and do the right thing here,” Cortez Masto said. 

For a full rundown of the measures the delegates supported or opposed this week, check out The Nevada Independent’s congressional vote tracker and other information below.

SEN. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO

Legislation co-sponsored:

S. 3652 – A bill to allow 2020 recovery rebates with respect to qualifying children over the age of 16 and other dependents.

S. 3627 – A bill to provide for the expedited and transparent procurement and distribution of equipment and supplies needed to combat COVID-19.

S. 3623 – A bill to provide for an enhanced Coronavirus relief fund for units of government with a population of 500,000 or less, and for other purposes.

S. 3620 – A bill to establish a Housing Assistance Fund at the Department of the Treasury.

S. 3612 – A bill to clarify for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that receipt of coronavirus assistance does not affect the tax treatment of ordinary business expenses.

S. 3609 – A bill to ensure that all communities have access to urgently needed COVID-19 testing, treatment, public health information, and relief benefits regardless of immigration status or limited English proficiency, and for other purposes.

S. 3598 – A bill to require commercial airlines to provide cash reimbursements, and to authorize the Secretary of State to waive or reimburse travel expenses, for any United States citizen who is evacuated from a foreign country and repatriated to the United States due to travel restrictions implemented in response to COVID-19 or any future pandemic or international crisis.

S. 3593 – A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand and modify the credit for increasing research activities, and for other purposes.

SEN. JACKY ROSEN

Legislation sponsored:

S. 3595 – A bill to require a longitudinal study on the impact of COVID-19.

Legislation co-sponsored:

S. 3659 – A bill to provide State and local workforce and career and technical education systems the support to respond to the COVID-19 national emergency.

S. 3627 – A bill to provide for the expedited and transparent procurement and distribution of equipment and supplies needed to combat COVID-19.

S. 3623 – A bill to provide for an enhanced Coronavirus relief fund for units of government with a population of 500,000 or less, and for other purposes.

S. 3609 – A bill to ensure that all communities have access to urgently needed COVID-19 testing, treatment, public health information, and relief benefits regardless of immigration status or limited English proficiency, and for other purposes.

S. 3606 – A bill to provide for the establishment of a Health Force and a Resilience Force to respond to public health emergencies and meet public health needs.

Disclosure: The Nevada Independent has received a PPP loan.