President Joe Biden said Friday that he will not reduce the proposed direct payments of $ 1,400, as the final implementation of a budget resolution means lawmakers could begin drafting legislation on $ 1.9 billion coronavirus.
In the White House, Biden said the new checks, along with the $ 600 payments approved in December. would give most Americans the $ 2000 he promised. A group of ten Republican House members have proposed reducing the last round of checks to $ 1,000.
“I’m not reducing the checks,” Biden said. ‘They cost $ 1,400. Period. It was promised to the American people. ”
Biden spoke after the House passed a budget resolution, mostly along party lines, 219-209, which allowed the bill passed by Congress by a majority vote without the threat of a filibuster.
While no Republican in the House or Senate voted for the resolution, several amendments to the IDP or the duality were included. Biden said he was willing to negotiate with Republicans for their support, but wanted to pass the bill quickly. The goal is to pass it by mid-March, when the current extended benefits for unemployment insurance expire.
“I told Republicans and Democrats that it was my preference: to work together,” Biden said. ‘But if I have to choose between getting help now from Americans who are so hurt and stuck in a long negotiation or losing a bill that leads to the crisis, it’s an easy choice. I’m going to help the American people who are hurting now. ”
A report of urgency added Friday was a report by the U.S. Department of Labor showing that the economy added just 49,000 jobs last month after losing 227,000 jobs in December.
“It is clear that urgent and sustained action is needed for the duration of this crisis,” said Jared Bernstein, a member of the White House Council on Economic Advisers.
In its recent report, Moody’s Analytics said Biden’s plan would “boost the economy if enacted into law” and help create 7.5 million jobs and another 2.5 million next year. , and restore all jobs created since the pandemic.
While Biden refused to break the package, a dual group of more moderate lawmakers on Friday recommended that he do just that. The Problem Solvers Caucus, along with New Jersey Chairman Josh Gottheimer, called for swift approval of $ 160 billion for vaccines, while discussions continued over the rest of the bill.
“We simply can not afford to wait weeks and weeks to get more vaccines out the door,” said Gottheimer, D-5th Dist.
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The Phil Murphy government has meanwhile joined the New York government, Andrew Cuomo, to claim a $ 350 billion portion of state and local aid in the proposal, which is consistent with the fact that both states are one of those was the one hardest hit by the coronavirus when it first came out. to this country.
“We were clocked,” Murphy said.
Cuomo said that when the disaster strikes, most damaged areas get the most help. That should happen here, he said.
“When a state is hit by a hurricane, the state gets relief,” Cuomo said. ‘It’s not that every state gets relief. Our state and our region paid the highest price. ”
Democratic U.S. Senator Robert Menendez will be one of the senators helping write the formula for distributing federal COVID assistance to state and local governments.
“The governors completely seemed to think we should treat COVID aid like federal disaster relief to a hurricane in which you direct resources to the areas hardest hit,” Menendez said. “New Jersey was one of the states hardest hit, and we need the federal government to act in a big way.”
Jonathan D. Salant can be reached at [email protected].
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