WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden on Wednesday told Democratic lawmakers he is “not married” to an absolute number in his $ 1.9 billion COVID rescue plan but Congress must “act quickly” to alleviate the pandemic and economic crisis.
Biden also said he does not want to give up his proposed $ 1,400 in direct payments promised to Americans. But he said he was willing to “direct” the aid, which means lowering the income threshold to qualify for the money.
“Look, today we have a lot of people who are hurting in our country,” Biden said. “We have to act. We need to act quickly. ”
Biden said, “I’m not going to start my government by breaking a promise to the American people.”
He spoke to House Democrats and was followed by a meeting in the White House with the best Senate Democrats, which deepened his public relations with lawmakers on pandemic aid and an economic recovery package. Together, it is his first legislative priority and a test of the government’s ability to work with Congress.
Biden’s remarks to the Democratic House caucus were conveyed by two people who requested anonymity to discuss the private conference call.
While Biden tries to build dual support from Republicans, he is also prepared to rely on the Democratic majority in Congress to put his leading agenda item in the law. Republicans have objected to the president’s package being excessive, proposing a $ 618 billion alternative with slimmer $ 1000 direct payments and no aid for states and cities. But Biden has inadequately pawned the GOP package, even as he continues private talks with Republicans about possible areas of compromise.
In his meeting with Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and ten top Senate Democrats in the Oval Office, the President expressed confidence that the relief package would continue to win GOP votes and be dual.
“I think we’ll get some Republicans,” he said at the beginning of the meeting.
With an increasing death toll on viruses and a strained economy, the goal is to get COVID-19 relief approved by March, when extra unemployment benefits and other pandemic measures expire. Money for the distribution of vaccines, direct payments to households, reopening of schools and business assistance are at stake.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president acknowledged the final package might look different from what he had initially proposed.
She said the target on the $ 1,400 payments “is not the size of the check, it means the income level of the people who receive the check.” It is under discussion, she said.
While lawmakers in Congress begin drafting the details of the package, Biden is stepping up his allies, while also ensuring that the final product lives up to its promise of courageous relief to a battered nation.
House Democrats were told during the call with the president that they may be flexible in some numbers and programs, but that they should not retreat to the size or scope of the assistance.
“We need to get big, not small,” Biden told Democrats. “I have your back and you have mine.”
As the White House strives for a dual bill, Democrats in the House and Senate have launched a lengthy budget process to approve Biden’s bill with or without Republican support. Voting began Tuesday in the Senate and was scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in the House.
“We want to do it twice, but we have to be strong,” Schumer said after the 90-minute session in the White House. Democrats work “with our Republican friends, whenever we can.”
The swift action follows Tuesday’s outreach as Finance Minister Biden and Janet Yellen joined Democratic senators for a private virtual meeting, declaring both Republicans’ $ 618 billion bid was too small.
Both Biden and Yellen recalled the lessons learned from the government’s response to the 2009 financial crisis, which some say has been inadequate since then as conditions worsen.
Schumer said of the Republican proposal: “If we were to do such a small package, we would be trapped in the COVID crisis for years.”
Earlier this week, Biden met with ten Republican senators who shelled out their $ 618 billion alternative and said he would not delay aid in the hope of winning GOP support, even as talks continued.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has criticized the Democrats for largely advancing on their own as GOP senators try to offer dual alternatives.
“They chose a completely biased path,” McConnell said. “It’s a pity.”
The two sides are far apart. The cornerstone of the IDP plan is $ 160 billion for the healthcare response – distribution of vaccines, a “massive expansion” of testing, protective equipment and money for rural hospitals, similar to what Biden proposed for help specifically for the pandemic.
But from there, the two plans differ drastically. Biden proposes $ 170 billion for schools, compared to $ 20 billion in the Republican plan. Republicans would also give nothing to states, money that Democrats say is just as important, with $ 350 billion in Biden’s plan to keep police, firefighters and other workers at work.
The $ 1,000 direct payments from the IDP will go to fewer people – those earning up to $ 40,000 a year, or $ 80,000 for couples. Biden’s larger $ 1400 payments would extend to higher income levels, up to $ 300,000 for some families.
Republicans are offering $ 40 billion in support of the Paycheck Protection Program. But democratic priorities are gone, such as a gradual lifting of the federal minimum wage up to $ 15 per hour.
Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons of Delaware, both Democrats in the state of Biden, were in the White House earlier Wednesday to discuss with the president the need for state and local aid and the possibility of determining who qualifies for another round. direct payments.
Coons said he was in talks with Republicans “about what conditions they are willing to increase the amount significantly for some state and local aid.” Without it, he said, it’s a ‘nonstarter’.
Winning the support of ten Republicans would be important, and it would likely give Biden the votes needed in the 50-50 Senate to reach the 60-vote threshold typically needed to advance legislation. Vice President Kamala Harris is the tiebreaker.
But Democrats went ahead with Tuesday’s vote, laying the groundwork for final approval in the budget conciliation process, which would pass the bill by a 51-vote Senate majority.