Congress is now on recess until July 9 in honor of Independence Day but some members are looking ahead and asking to cancel their August break.
Alaska’s Dan Sullivan is among a group of 10 Republican senators who have asked Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to cancel, or at least curtail, the traditional month-long August break so they can make headway on conservative goals. The senators cite the need to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, fund the government, deal with the debt ceiling, pass a budget resolution, and reform the tax code. The lead on the letter was Sen. David Perdue of Georgia, and all of the signers are in their first term, except for Sen. Mike Lee of Utah.
The senators sent their letter Friday. The same day, a dozen members of the conservative Freedom Caucus in the House sent a similar letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her atlruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Lizhere.
