10:06
Meanwhile, majority leader Chuck Schumer is saying that a bill looking to reform the post office is set to hit the senate floor.
Chuck Schumer
(@SenSchumer)I’m standing together today with postal workers from NYC, postal workers from Long Island, and an Etsy entrepreneur who depends on the USPS.
We will move forward in the Senate to pass the Postal Service Reform Act and help strengthen one of America’s most important institutions. pic.twitter.com/kSDiilHkV4
But Punchbowl News is reporting that senate likely won’t be able to take up the legislation until March: House clerks mistakenly enrolled the wrong version of the bill, meaning that Schumer filed cloture on the wrong version.
09:42
Today is the fourth anniversary of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people and wounded 17 more – the deadliest school shooting in the country.
Manuel Olivier, whose son Joaquin was one of the 17 killed that day, is now apparently on top of a construction crane a block from the White House, surrounded by police.
Bob Barnard
(@barnardfox5dc)On this 4th anniversary of the #Parkland shooting Manuel Olivier whose son Joaquin was killed at Stoneman Douglas High School in FL is on top of a construction crane a block from the White House surrounded by police. @fox5dc pic.twitter.com/KgfZgn55IB
It is unclear if Olivier is staging a protest, but he has been outspoken in the past in his crusade against gun violence.
Joe Biden released a statement today acknowledging that “out of the heartbreak of Parkland a new generation of Americans all across the country marched for our lives and towards a better, safer America for us all”.
“Together, this extraordinary movement is making sure that the voices of victims and survivors and responsible gun owners are louder than the voices of gun manufacturers and the National Rifle Association,” the statement reads.
Biden continued: “I’ve asked Congress to pass a budget that provides an additional half billion dollars for proven strategies we know reduce violent crime – accountable community policing and community violence interventions. I have also requested increased funding for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the US marshals. And Congress must do much more – beginning with requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers.
“We can never bring back those we’ve lost,” Biden said. “But we can come together to fulfill the first responsibility of our government and our democracy: to keep each other safe. For Parkland, for all those we’ve lost, and for all those left behind, it is time to uphold that solemn obligation.”
Updated
09:27
Senate unlikely to pass Russia sanctions bill ahead of military action
Howdy, live blog readers. Happy Valentine’s Day.
All eyes in Washington continue to be on the growing threat that Russia will invade Ukraine, with Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, set to brief House and Senate leaders later today on the situation. Tune into our live blog on the tensions here for updates.
While Senate is in session today, Punchbowl News is reporting that the odds are pretty low on whether there could be any legislative action taken on sanctions against Russia ahead of military action. Though the majority leader, Chuck Schumer, told reporters last week that lawmakers were getting “closer and closer” to agreement on a Russia sanctions bill, the minority leader, Mitch McConnell, downplayed the impact of it, saying it was up to Joe Biden to decide the importance of such action.
Last week, the major hangup was over whether the sanctions would be imposed on all Russian banks and over Nord Stream 2, according to Bob Menendez, chair of the Senate foreign relations committee.