President Biden told reporters on Thursday that coronavirus relief would pass with or without the support of Republicans in Congress.
When asked whether the president supports Democrats’ calls to use a legislative process known as “budget reconciliation” to get another stimulus package issued by Congress, Biden said: “I support approving it with the support of Republicans, if we can.
“But the relief has to go,” he added. “No ifs and or buts.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Announced on Thursday that the House will bring a budget resolution to the floor next week for Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion aid package – the first step in moving forward. bill through the reconciliation process.
The Senate will then vote to adopt the resolution. Budgetary reconciliations require only a simple majority to pass, as opposed to the 60 votes required for most legislations. Democrats hold a majority position in the House. The Senate is balanced, but Democrats have an effective majority because Vice President Kamala Harris has the tiebreaker vote.
But the $ 1.9 trillion resolution is unlikely to guarantee much Republican support, as several Republican lawmakers have already expressed concern about the high price and have vehemently opposed increasing the previous amount earmarked for individual stimulus checks – even after the President Trump asked them to do so.
“I hope we don’t have to, but if we do, we will,” Pelosi told reporters on Thursday. “We want it to always be bipartisan, but we cannot surrender.”
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Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., reiterated Pelosi’s calls for a bipartisan bill, but said he would pass “without” Republican lawmakers if they oppose the legislation.
“Our preference is to make this important work bipartisan, to include contributions, ideas and reviews from our Republican colleagues or bipartisan efforts to do the same. But if our Republican colleagues decide to oppose this urgent and necessary legislation, we will have to move forward without them, “Schumer said in the Senate plenary on Thursday.