Murkowski and Sullivan split on Senate leader’s decision to cut August ‘recess’ short

WASHINGTON — Alaska's U.S. senators don't feel quite the same way about the Senate majority leader's decision to cut the August "recess" short and keep lawmakers at the Capitol.

Sen. Dan Sullivan was one of 10 Republican senators who petitioned Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to cancel August recess — the monthlong work period that members of Congress spend back in their home states, holding town halls and appearing at county fairs.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, also a Republican, was irritated at the change of plans, and said after the announcement Tuesday she thought the Senate would be better served by members who worked at least a full five days a week throughout July.

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In the end, McConnell met them in the middle and canceled the first two weeks of August recess. He did not announce specific plans for the work period.

Sullivan and his band of senators held a press conference Tuesday to back their request, roughly 90 minutes before McConnell sent out a press release announcing the session would extend into August.

The senators' June 30 letter asked for a longer break to work on health care, funding the government, managing the debt ceiling, passing a budget resolution and making progress on tax code changes.

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Sullivan was joined by Sens. David Perdue, R-Ga.; Steve Daines R-Mont.; Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; John Kennedy, R-La.; James Lankford, R-Okla.; Mike Lee, R-Utah; Mike Rounds, R-S.D.; Luther Strange, R-Ala. and Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

There are only 31 working days before the end of the fiscal year, Perdue pointed out at the press conference.

The Senate has completed its budget process only four times in the last 44 years, said Daines of Montana.

"I don't see any reason why we need to be leaving this town in August," he said, likening it to a failing student needing to attend summer school.

When it comes to the Republican agenda, including "rebuilding" the military, expanding energy production and energizing the economy, Sullivan said, "a lot of it is actually a bipartisan agenda, and what we don't have a lot of is time."

But "we can create more time," he said.

But Murkowski wasn't pleased with the news, and she said there's plenty of unused time on the calendar.

"You know, I'm here on Monday and Friday. But when all of my colleagues leave at the 2 o'clock plane on Thursday, I may as well go home on Friday, even though it takes me a long while. But then think about what happens then? We could get three extra days of work in. Which, if we were able to do that every week, good heavens, we might not have to use up our time in August," she said.

Murkowski said "in fairness," the extra time might help move some stalled nominees through the Senate confirmation process. But she said much of what they'd be doing was left unsaid in the initial announcement.

"Obviously this is all just kind of fresh, and the leader didn't really lay out what his plan was, other than we're just going to be here for an extra two weeks," she said.

"And this is where I'm a little bit frustrated. Because it's one thing to say, 'Hey gang, let's work to make sure that we finished up these initiatives, and we're going to stay here until we get those done,' " Murkowski said. "That gives us kind of a plan, if you will, or at least an outline going forward. But instead what we got is: 'Sorry — nobody's going home for the first two weeks.' "

Murkowski argued a clear plan and focus are what is needed, not arbitrary extra time.

"When we go back home, this is not a recess, like you and I used to have when we were little kids. This is certainly where I do my hardest and best work," she said.

Back in Alaska, Murkowski said, she's able to spend time with constituents and get input from Alaskans.

"And so this notion that we're all going off on a vacation. … Well, I am going to try to get a day of fishing in, but it's not a vacation. We are working," she said.

Murkowski also noted some uncertainty about how the schedule change might affect some invitations she made to Cabinet secretaries to visit Alaska.

"This is when I feel like I can contribute most to my state. So I understand, we all want to get our work done, but I would have been totally fine staying here and working and voting Mondays and Fridays and giving up that weekend," she said.