“We have seen the job report. Only 6,000 jobs in the private sector will be created. And at this rate, it will be ten years before we get a full-time job. This is not a hyperbole,” Biden said at a meeting on Friday morning. said in the Oval Office. with House Democratic leadership.
“I appreciate you all coming because it’s the urgency you’re moving with – it’s about people’s lives. It’s not just about numbers,” Biden said. He added that many Americans were “really hurt” and that Congress had the opportunity “to do something about it as a result.”
Referring to lessons he learned from the time he worked on the Recovery Act during the Obama administration, he said, “We can not do too much here, but we can do too little.”
The president also rebuffed Republicans’ counter-proposal for relief, which amounted to less than half of the $ 1.9 billion $ White House plan. He indicated Friday afternoon that he would continue with his proposal, regardless of whether Republicans board.
“I would like to do that with the support of Republicans … But they are just not willing to go as far as I think we should go,” Biden said during a White House speech.
‘(It’s) my preference to work together, but if I have to choose now between helping Americans who are in so much pain and getting stuck in a long negotiation, or around a bill leading to the crisis, to lose, it’s an an easy choice. I’m going to help the American people hurt now. ‘
“I know that some in Congress think we have already done enough to address the crisis in the country,” he added. “Others think it’s better, we can afford to sit back and either do a little or do nothing. It’s not what I see, I see tremendous pain in this country.”
Summers warned of issues in the plan that could affect financial stability and the value of the dollar, saying the implementation of the stimulus could lead to unprecedented inflationary pressures, emphasizing that the proposed stimulus is three times as large as the projected deficit.
Biden said on Friday morning: “It’s not just the macroeconomic impact on our economy and our ability to compete internationally. It’s people’s lives. Real, living people are hurting and we can fix it.”
And during comments Friday afternoon, Biden also claims that his plan is better for the U.S. economy in the long run, citing Wall Street, brainstorming and federal analysis.
“It not only addresses the immediate crisis we are in, it is better for the long – term economic health of our country and our competitiveness,” Biden said. “There is also a growing chorus of top economists, right, center, left, who say we need to focus less on the deficit and more on the investments we make and can make now.
The job report released Friday morning indicated that 49,000 jobs were added in January, but the country is still nearly 10 million jobs lower than before the coronavirus pandemic. It also showed that the unemployment rate fell to 6.3%, beating economists’ expectations, which was the first decline in two months.
White House Council of Economic Advisers Jared Bernstein also criticized Summers’ rating in an interview with CNN on Friday.
‘I think he’s profoundly wrong about the allegation in the next sentence, and there’s a way Larry offers a warning we’ve already heard. … I strongly disagree with the core of the argument: we need to grow up and we need to be brave here to finally put this crisis behind us, to finally put this virus behind us and to finally and reliably be robust, launching inclusive and racially equitable recovery, “Bernstein told CNN’s Poppy Harlow.
“We have always said that the risks of getting smaller are much greater than the risks of too much. This does not mean that there are no risks associated with the kind of work we do, because that is always the case in the economy. , “he added.
“But what Larry worries about is inflationary overheating,” Bernstein said. “And right now we have inflation that has been below the Fed’s target rate of 2% for more than a decade.”
Bernstein also said Summers’ claim that the Biden government “does not reject potential inflationary pressures” is incorrect.
CNN’s Betsy Klein and Anneken Tappe contributed to this report.