Recapping yesterday's action:

The House worked late into the night, meandering through its schedule. They began their day by debating but then postponing a roll call vote on the first of the six scheduled suspension bills, then passing the next three by voice vote. Then, taking a detour, they returned to consideration of the "EPA Regulatory Relief Act" left over from last week, debated eight amendments to it but postponed the votes on them, then veered off and passed the rule for consideration of the trade bills. Then they turned back around and voted on the postponed amendments to the EPA bill (defeating them all), but still not passing the bill. Instead, they returned to the remaining suspension bills, passing them both by voice vote, before beginning debate on the trade bills, leaving the EPA bill hanging until later. Very strange, though not by any means out of keeping with the rules.

The Senate approached their schedule in a more straightforward manner, confirming the nomination of Jane Margaret Triche-Milazzo to the bench in the Eastern District of Louisiana by a vote of 98-0, and passing the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act, 63-35. But the Senate was still the Senate, voting down cloture on the motion to proceed to the American Jobs Act by a vote of 50-49.

Speaking of which, have you all seen this 90 Second Summary of the AJA, from Main Street Insider (which also maintains a group page at Daily Kos)?

Looking ahead to today:

Today, the House mops up much of yesterday's work, with plans to complete consideration of the four trade bills (three free trade pacts and an extension of the Generalized System of Preferences), continue work on the EPA bill, and then get back to that one postponed suspension bill.

The Senate plans a 12 hour marathon debate on all three pending free trade pact implementation acts (implementation acts are the vehicles by which treaties are enacted into U.S. law). Of course, with the House still working on the bills today, I'm not sure by what reasoning the Senate will be claiming to be in possession of the papers (remember that?) they'll supposedly be debating. Maybe there's something special about treaty implementation acts that makes it possible to do that. But this Senate Dems blog entry suggests it's just the magic of unanimous consent, but that the votes can't actually happen until the papers arrive from the House.

Today's floor and committee schedules appear below the fold.