Senate approves House adjournment resolution

The House stands adjourned until Tuesday, Nov. 12, after the Senate passed H.Con.Res. 62.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) passed the resolution through a unanimous consent agreement Wednesday evening, despite previously criticizing House leadership for working so little next month. The House had passed the resolution earlier in the day.

{mosads}The Senate will remain in session for four-weeks straight, only taking off weekends and Veterans’ Day, according to Reid.

Reid also passed H.R. 3190, the United States Parole Commission Extension Act introduced by Steve Chabot (R-Ohio). The House passed the same bill earlier this month, which means it now heads to President Obama’s desk for his signature before becoming law.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) introduced the CHIMP Act Amendments of 2013, S. 1561, which was also approved by unanimous consent. That bill amends the Public Health Service Act to ensure that chimpanzees owned by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that are no longer used for medical research can continue to receive the care in a sanctuary.

“Moving these chimps to sanctuary care is not only the right thing to do, but doing so would also be more cost-efficient for NIH and for taxpayers,” Harkin said after the bill passed. “Now that the Senate has acted, I hope that the House of Representatives will quickly take up this important bill to ensure that NIH can use resources it already has on hand to ensure these chimps’ well-being now and in the future.”

On Thursday, the Senate will continue to work through executive branch and judicial nominees.