- The Biden White House said on Thursday it was not splitting its $ 1.9 billion stimulus plan into several parts.
- “We do not want to divide the package,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
- Democrats are preparing to begin the reconciliation process next week, a maneuver to pass the plan without GOP votes.
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The Biden government on Thursday ruled out splitting its $ 1.9 billion coronavirus relief plan in two, increasing the chances that Democrats would pass their package through a party majority vote with reconciliation.
“I just want to take this opportunity to be crystal clear: we do not want to divide the package. This is not a proposal from the White House,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told a news conference. “This is not where our focus is or where our intention is.”
Psaki said the White House does not want to force lawmakers to prioritize one measure over another, such as getting children back to school or providing extra federal assistance to families struggling to pay for food.
“We’re not going to break it down or break up a big package meant to address the crisis we’re facing,” she said.
The remarks come as bipartisan talks continue and Democrats set the stage to start the reconciliation process next week. Housewife Nancy Pelosi said Democrats in her chamber are preparing to vote on the resolution, the first step in the process.
“By the end of the week, we will be done with the budget resolution, which is about reconciliation if we need it,” Pelosi said at her weekly press conference. The Senate is also expected to vote on it for one term.
The budget procedure requires only a simple majority in the Senate, which can be an obstacle, as all 50 Democrats will have to support the emergency relief package in the reconciliation process. Vice President Kamala Harris holds the casting vote in the chamber.
President Joe Biden’s $ 1.9 billion emergency spending package includes $ 1,400 stimulus checks, improved unemployment insurance, a larger child tax credit and assistance to state and local governments.
It also includes a minimum wage of $ 15, a measure that may not go through the strict budget rules for reconciliation. This component, coupled with its hefty price tag, provoked intense Republican opposition.
“I do not think the government has drafted a bill that they believe would be a huge two-way success,” Republican Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Yet Democrats have expressed confidence that they could embark on a legislative maneuver that will ultimately be time-consuming as the economy flags. The Department of Labor reported Thursday that approximately 847,000 people applied for unemployment claims last week, a level that still exceeds the worst of the Great Recession a decade ago.
“We have to do it all together. It all fits together,” Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal told reporters on Capitol Hill. “I have no delay for delay.”
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia on Thursday evaded questions about whether he supports the budget resolution, which sets out instructions for committees to begin drafting legislative languages for Biden’s plan. The Conservative Democrat has repeatedly told reporters: “We’re going to make Joe Biden successful.”
Progressive Democrats are begging the Biden government for a massive relief package as talks with Republicans continue. A group of 54 progressive House Democrats have sent a letter to the White House urging them to consider recurring direct payments for the aid package.
Rep. Ro Khanna of California, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus that signed the letter, said in an interview that the Biden proposal is a ‘strong opening bid’ and that Democrats should weaken it to get GOP votes. .
“Susan Collins was not elected president,” Khanna told Insider. “All the president has put forward is his plan that he has continued, that he has fought against, that he has won the primary, that he has won the general election – that was part of the platform of the Democratic Party.”