Today on the Hill: McConnell Queues Votes on Abortion Measures

Senators will convene today for consideration of a pair of abortion-related measures. Designed as a messaging exercise for the 2020 election, the bills would establish requirements for the degree of care a health care practitioner must exercise in the event a child is born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion (S. 311); and seek to boost protections for pain-capable unborn children (S. 3275). The upper chamber will also resume consideration of presidential nominations, including a final confirmation vote on Katharine MacGregor’s nomination to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior.

In the House, lawmakers will consider five suspension bills out of the Veterans Affairs Committee. This includes measures that would: (1) require the Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) to establish a website that would provide copies of certain congressionally-requested VA reports (H.R. 4613); (2) improve oversight of contracts awarded by the VA to veteran-owned small businesses (H.R. 561); and (3) provide grants to entitles that provide legal services for both homeless veterans and veterans at risk of homelessness (H.R. 3749).