Senate reopens despite risks as House preps more virus aid

WASHINGTON — The Senate reopened Monday in a Capitol largely shuttered by the coronavirus, but prospects for quick action on a new aid package are uncertain with a deepening debate over how best to confront the deadly pandemic and its economic devastation. He said the Senate would “show up for work like the essential workers that we are.” Senate Republicans are trying to set the terms of debate, frustrated that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was able to fill up earlier aid bills with Democratic priorities. They’re reluctant to unleash federal funds beyond the nearly $3 trillion Congress already approved in virus relief and hope Trump’s push to kick-start the economy will reduce the need for more aid. Capitol Hill erupted late last week after the attending physician informed top GOP officials the health office did not have the means to perform instant virus tests on returning lawmakers or staff. Trump huffed in a tweet Monday that Congress was essentially “saying that they are not ‘essential.’” Democrats are eyeing a new aid package as states and cities seek as much as $1 trillion to prevent local layoffs and keep paying nurses, police, firefighters and other front-line workers as local revenues tank during the stay-home shutdown.