News / Politics

US House cancels voting on legislation due to snowstorm

Monday, 25 January 2016 2:55 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 25 January 2016 6:56 AM ]

Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the US Capitol is covered with snow on January 24, 2016 in Washington, DC. (AFP photo)

The US House of Representatives has canceled voting on legislation this week, including one on overriding President Barack Obama's health care veto, because of the severe winter storm that hit the eastern United States over the weekend.

The next vote by the House is expected on February 1, according to a statement issued by Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's office on Sunday.

The congressional chamber was already scheduled for a short week because Democrats are set to hold their annual legislative retreat beginning Wednesday in Baltimore.

More than 10,000 flights have been cancelled to and from the East Coast due to the snowstorm, making air travel back to Washington, DC a perilous prospect.

People walk on Pennsylvania Avenue in near whiteout conditions in Washington on January 23, 2016. (AFP photo)

Snowplows and traffic make their way south along Interstate 40 in Durham and Orange counties in North Carolina, Friday, Jan. 22, 2016. (AFP photo)

The historic blizzard that blanketed the East Coast has killed at least 24 people.

The storm, which set a new single-day snowfall record in Washington, DC, and New York City, walloped a dozen states from Friday into early Sunday, affecting an estimated 85 million residents.

The 26.8 inches (68 cm) of snow that fell in New York's Central Park was the second-highest accumulation in the city since records began in 1869, and more than 22 inches (56 cm) paralyzed the capital Washington.

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