“It’s the extent of the problem and the extent of the kind of package that is needed – we need to go through it to address it,” she said, adding that Biden is not prepared to be a “Washington, political, partisan” matter. and prevent the American people from getting the relief they need. ‘
The emergency relief package is now going to the Senate, where it is likely to receive broad support from Democrats in the House, including sens. Sherrod Brown, Mazie Hirono and Chris Coons, who each also defended the bill against criticism of the lack of Republican support. in the House.
“Just because Senate Republicans do not support it does not make it biased, what makes it dual is public support for it,” Brown, a Democratic Ohio, told NBC.
Coons told ‘State of the Union’ to Bash that a few weeks would be given for serious negotiations that come close to the scope and extent of this challenge, but that the proposals that emerge, not like the scope of the challenge. ‘
“And so, honestly, we are moving forward with a bill that is unlikely to get any Republican votes in the Senate, but will have broad Republican support in the country,” Coons of Delaware said.
Hirono, a Democrat in Hawaii, told ABC that the Senate “must pass the massive Covid bill and we know we will have to do it without any Republican support.”
“This is the reason for the Republicans why we let the Covid bill (in a dual way) be done in Congress, not across the country,” she said, blaming the party for any obstacles to the process. slowed it down. recent weeks.
Republicans meanwhile criticized the Democrats’ handling of the bill on Sunday, while Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, told Bash on “State of the Union” that Psaki’s comments about his party were involved in the details. of the legislation a “joke.”
“Yes, he was open to unity and bipartisanship,” the senator said, referring to Biden’s call for bipartisanship during his inaugural address. “It has not yet been this legislation.”
Senator Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, told ABC he was disappointed the White House did not reach out to Republicans to work on a dual bill now that the package has passed in the House.
“There are a number of things here that have nothing to do with Covid relief,” he said. “It’s just not targeted. We have a Republican alternative, as you know, we talked to the president and his people about it. We got no response, which is much more targeted and focused … that’s what “We have to do it. It’s not difficult.”
Democrats are campaigning for raising minimum wages
The bill will then return to the House for a separate vote before reaching Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
Coons told CNN that he does not think the Democrats’ inability to pass a minimum wage increase through the budget reconciliation process without Republican support should lead them to become frustrated and ‘throw the white flag’ at dual work.
“We will have other opportunities this year to pass bold legislation in this Congress, but we need to give two parties a chance,” he said.
On whether he makes suggestions of sense. Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden will support punishing companies that pay employees less than $ 15 an hour, a measure that progressive people see as another way to push for a minimum wage increase, he said he has not yet the proposals.
CNN’s Daniella Diaz, Veronica Stracqualursi, Betsy Klein and Jasmine Wright contributed to this report.