Senators Aim To Wrap Up Infrastructure Bill By The Weekend

The Hill: Senate Eyeing Possible Weekend Finish For $1T Infrastructure Bill 
Senators are in negotiations over wrapping up a roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal, with an eye at finishing it as soon as this weekend. Senators say they are looking at holding a key vote to wind down debate on Saturday, where the bill would need 60 votes to move forward. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said a vote to end debate was “possible” on Saturday, but cautioned that it wasn’t final because senators were still haggling over up to 60 hours of time they would still need to burn through after that vote under the Senate’s rules before they could get to final passage for the bipartisan agreement. (Carney, 8/4)

CBS News: Senate Slowly Presses Forward On Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill
The Senate is slowly inching closer to a final vote on the roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, as debate on amendments to the proposal continues and Republicans urge their Democratic colleagues not to move too quickly. The Senate has so far considered eight amendments to the plan, which provides $550 billion in new spending to revitalize the nation's physical infrastructure. The upper chamber is poised to consider another "substantial tranche" of amendments Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, though an agreement on the total number of amendments to weigh has not yet been reached. (Quinn, 8/4)

KHN: 2+2=? Senate Uses Murky Math As It Shelves Drug Pricing Rule To Fund Infrastructure
The Senate’s release of its bipartisan infrastructure plan signals that lawmakers are poised to throw former President Donald Trump’s belated bid to lower Medicare drug prices under the bus — not to mention trains, bridges, tunnels and broadband connections. That’s because the massive spending bill is the first of two likely to at least delay the so-called Medicare rebate rule released at the end of the Trump administration, which has yet to take effect. Congress would use the projected costs of that rule to pay for more than half a trillion dollars in new infrastructure. (McAuliff, 8/5)

In other news from Capitol Hill —

The Washington Post: Senators Join Effort To Create A Covid Memorial Day For 614,000 Pandemic Victims
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and two other senators introduced a resolution Wednesday to create a national covid-19 day of memorial, giving momentum to the cause of hundreds of grieving families to ensure their loss is not forgotten. For months, the families of those who died struggled to find a single senator to support their cause, and they converged on Washington last week to make their pleas in person. (Wan, 8/4)

The Washington Post: Scalise’s Misleading Clip Job Claiming ‘Vaccine Misinformation’ By Democrats
Republicans, especially supporters of former president Donald Trump, increasingly make up a large share of people refusing coronavirus vaccines, according to various surveys. With Democrats claiming that Republicans are not trusting science, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), the House minority whip, decided to go on the offense, releasing a video claiming that Democrats actually are purveyors of vaccine misinformation. This is a classic example of “whataboutism.” The 57-second video consists of clips of three prominent Democrats — President Biden, Vice President Harris and New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo — but are carefully clipped to remove context or to twist their meaning. These comments were made in 2020, when Trump was president and he was pressing the Food and Drug Administration to approve a vaccine before the presidential election. (Kessler, 8/5)

The Hill: 19 House Democrats Call On Capitol Physician To Mandate Vaccines
A group of 19 House Democrats is calling on the Capitol physician to start mandating that lawmakers and staff on Capitol Hill be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be subject to testing at least twice per week. In a letter to the Capitol physician released on Wednesday, the Democratic lawmakers argued that "unique factors," such as the frequent travel among members of Congress who hail from all corners of the country, make people who work in the Capitol complex more at risk of exposure to COVID-19. (Marcos, 8/4)

The Washington Examiner: Newt Gingrich Says He's Worried About Fauci's 'Cognitive Impairment' 
Newt Gingrich raised concerns about the cognitive abilities of Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser who has become a target among Republicans throughout the coronavirus pandemic. The former House speaker brought up Fauci's brain Wednesday as he explained why he believes the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases should retire. (Chaitin, 8/4)

In other news about elected officials in Louisiana and Arizona —

CBS News: Louisiana Congresswoman Julia Letlow Urges COVID-19 Vaccinations After Husband's Death: "We Have The Answer. Let's Use It"
Louisiana Congresswoman Julia Letlow's husband, Luke, had just been elected to Congress when he got the coronavirus. The two were anxiously awaiting an opportunity to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. "He and I had prayed for weeks prior about the possibility of the vaccine, and we were so excited that it was coming out and that it was going to be widely available. And he missed it by two weeks," Julia told CBS News' David Begnaud. (CBS News, 8/4)

The Washington Examiner: Vaccinated Arizona State Senator Tests Positive For COVID-19 
An Arizona state lawmaker revealed on Tuesday he tested positive for COVID-19 after being vaccinated against the virus. Democratic state Sen. Tony Navarrete issued a press release saying he tested positive after conducting a rapid test and a PCR test last week. Navarrete is isolating at home and is experiencing mild symptoms, according to the press release, which also noted the legislator received his final vaccine shot in February. (Chaitin, 8/4)