Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Saturday released a joint statement saying they will decline the White House’s offer to test members for coronavirus.
“Congress is grateful for the Administration’s generous offer to deploy rapid COVID-19 testing capabilities to Capitol Hill, but we respectfully decline the offer at this time. Our country’s testing capacities are continuing to scale up nationwide and Congress wants to keep directing resources to the front-line facilities where they can do the most good the most quickly,” McConnell and Pelosi said in a joint statement.
“Consistent with CDC guidelines, Congress will use the current testing protocols that the Office of the Attending Physician has put in place until these speedier technologies become more widely available,” the two continued.
McConnell released a statement Friday saying the Senate will be in session Monday, as planned, after new guidance from the Office of the Attending Physician. (RELATED: McConnell Says Senate Will Be In Session Monday After New Guidance — House Will Remain Out Of Session)
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (L) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) lead a rally and news conference ahead of a House vote on health care and prescription drug legislation in the Rayburn Room at the U.S. Capitol May 15, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
This comes as Democratic leadership on Tuesday canceled the House’s plans to return back to Washington, D.C., next week, just one day after Democrats made the announcement. According to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the Capitol physician advised them not to return as well amid a rise in coronavirus cases in the Washington area.
“We made a judgment that we will not come back next week but that we hope to come back very soon,” Hoyer said. (RELATED: House Cancels Plan To Return Next Week One Day After Making Announcement)
The Senate now hopes to work together with the White House on passing new legislation to help combat the coronavirus and help American workers struggling across the country.