House expected to pass COVID relief bill next week

In a press briefing Thursday morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi discussed the proposed congressional commission to investigate the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 and the possibility of investigations into Texas power outages.

Pelosi that the "9/11-style" commission that would investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection must be "strongly bipartisan" and confirmed that Democrats have sent their commission proposal to Republicans to review.

"For this to work it really has to be strongly bipartisan," Pelosi said.

Pelosi said she consulted with the former 9/11 commission members about how to structure a review of the Jan. 6 insurrection. She also said the commission needs to have subpoena power. 

On the Texas energy crisis, Pelosi said the House Energy and Commerce Committee will be investigating. She also confirmed that her daughter, who lives in Houston, is without power but is safe. 

"I believe that the [House] Energy and Commerce Committee will be taking up some form of, when I say investigation, I mean a look into it to see how things could have turned out better and will turn out better in the future," Pelosi said.

Pelosi also said she thinks teachers should be vaccinated depending on how bad the COVID-19 virus is in their respective regions but did not say she thought it was a requirement for schools to reopen.

"I want everybody to be vaccinated and I certainly want our teachers to be. But depending on what the situation is in their area, it may or may not be necessary," she added. 

On the new immigration bill introduced by Democrats Thursday that is supported by the White House, Pelosi said she doesn't think it will be necessary to get it through both chambers using the reconciliation process, which Democrats are using for the COVID-19 relief bill, but she left the door open to that possibility. Pelosi said a piecemeal approach is possible.

"How it happens through the legislative process remains to be seen," Pelosi said.

-ABC News' Mariam Khan

Biden approved an emergency declaration for Oklahoma Wednesday night amid the winter storm that has knocked out power to millions in the region. The president approved an emergency declaration for Texas on Sunday. The authorization allows FEMA to coordinate disaster relief and provides federal funds.

"Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency," a statement from the White House said. "Emergency protective measures for mass care and sheltering and direct federal assistance will be provided at 75 percent federal funding."

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management announced that all federal offices in Washington, D.C. are closed Thursday because of extreme weather.

A briefing at the State Department scheduled for Thursday was cancelled and the press briefing with White House press secretary Jen Psaki will be by phone. Many other government operations will continue virtually.

Biden will receive his daily intelligence briefing and a COVID-19 response briefing today, both of which are closed the the press. This comes after the president's trip to visit a Pfizer vaccine production plant in Michigan, originally scheduled for Thursday, was postponed until Friday. White House press secretary Jen Psaki will give a virtual briefing at 12:30 p.m.

On Capitol Hill, Democrats are planning to unveil an immigration reform bill, which will include immigration priorities Biden laid out on day one of his administration. The bill, which does not have bipartisan support, would establish a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in the U.S., provide more funding to alleviate the backlog of asylum cases and the border and include funding for border security.

However, it seems now the Democrats do not have the bipartisan support in Congress they'd need to pass the legislation, so questions remain if they will have to water down the bill, or pass it in many small parts. Setting aside these concerns, administration officials tell ABC News they are more concerned with getting the legislation introduced.

-ABC News' Cecilia Vega and Justin Gomez