“In the spirit of duality and unity, we have developed a Covid-19 assistance framework that builds on previous Covid assistance laws, all of which have been implemented with dual support,” they wrote.
The senators said their framework includes a total of $ 160 billion for vaccine development and testing, testing and detection, and treatment and supplies, including the production and use of personal protective equipment. It will also include a new round of direct payments for ‘families most in need’, extending current federal unemployment benefits to the current level and providing $ 4 billion to promote behavior and drug abuse.
An assistant close to the process told CNN that the plan is expected to cost between $ 500 billion and $ 600 billion, although lawmakers are still waiting to hear about the estimated cost to the Congressional Budget Office.
Portman, who appeared on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, declined to say how much the package’s package would cost, but said it would be ‘less than $ 1.9 billion’, the cost of Biden’s plan .
“You know, our proposal is an example – it will contain all the health care money that President Biden has in his proposal. So there is a lot of duality,” he said, adding separately that “if you do not find duality on Covid-19, I do not know where to find it. ‘
Republicans estimate their own plan
In recent days, it has become clear to Republicans that the story they adopted suggested that Democrats had a plan for Covid relief and that Republicans could stand in the way or agree to it. They do not feel there is a place for negotiation for them to start and the frustration among Republicans is palpable.
As the week progressed, one idea was that they needed their own alternative to submit to the White House. And most importantly, they needed ten Republicans to be on board. One of the problems with the “Sweet 16” group is that they only had 8 Republicans left, which would never be enough to accept an account. They needed ten to show that there were enough willing partners to give the Democrats the 60 votes.
The other signatories to the letter include Sens Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Todd Young of Indiana, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
Any dual plan is likely to lose votes on the Democratic side, meaning that for every progressive senator against the proposal, a Republican will need to support it. This idea of putting two plans side by side, however, is one that co-workers and members have been discussing for several days, as a way of forcing the conversation to a dual place.
White House review letter
Brian Deese, the director of the White House’s National Economic Council, confirmed on Sunday on ‘State of the Union’ that the White House had received the letter and said they would review it later in the day. ‘
“We received the letter and will definitely review it later in the day,” Deese said. “What I will say is that the terms of the president’s plan, the American rescue plan, are calibrated to the economic crisis we are facing.”
The president, he added, is “uncompromising when it comes to the speed with which we must act to deal with this crisis.”
The Republican senators in their letter requested a meeting with the president.
“We request the opportunity to meet with you to discuss our proposal in more detail and how we can work together to meet the needs of the American people during this ongoing pandemic,” the group wrote to Biden, adding: “We acknowledge your calls for unity and good faith work with your administration to address the health, economic and social challenges of the Covid crisis. ‘
Biden’s proposed package, meanwhile, expands on many of Congress’ proposals for $ 3 billion coronavirus relief bills from March and $ 900 billion legislation from December, which has been scaled back to gain Senate bipartisan support.
While Biden said he was prepared to consider less than $ 1.9 billion in relief, White House officials made it clear that they were not interested in splitting up the legislation by getting a double vote on one or more other aspect and then give a separate package along party lines through reconciliation.
Asked on Sunday whether the White House was open to negotiating parts of Biden’s proposal, Deese told CNN that they were “definitely open to ideas.”
“We welcome the input to say where we may not have done everything right, where we can be more effective, it is definitely part of the process as we move forward,” he said. “But what we really need to focus on now is what we need to get this economy back on track and what are the resources needed to do that.”
This story has been updated with additional reporting.