WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has agreed to meet with a group of 10 Republican senators who have proposed spending about a third of the $ 1.9 trillion he seeks to help coronavirus, although Democratic congressmen are ready to go. ahead without Republican support.
Sunday’s invitation to the White House came hours after lawmakers sent a letter to Biden urging him to negotiate instead of trying to force his aid package with Democratic votes only. The House and Senate are on their way to vote this week on a budget resolution, which would lay the groundwork for approving an aid package under rules that require only a simple majority vote in the divided Senate.
The goal is to be approved until March, when the extra unemployment benefit and other pandemic aid expires. The meeting offered by Biden would represent the president’s most public involvement in negotiations for the next round of virus relief. Democratic and Republican lawmakers are distant in their assistance proposals.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Sunday that Biden had spoken to the group’s leader, Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine. Although Biden wants “a full exchange of views”, Psaki reiterated that he remains in favor of moving forward with a long-range aid package. A meeting can happen in a matter of days.
“With the virus posing a serious threat to the country and the adverse economic conditions for so many, the need for action is urgent and the scale of what needs to be done is large,” said Psaki.
In challenging Biden to deliver on his promise of unity, the group said in its letter that its counterproposal will include $ 160 billion for vaccines, testing, treatment and personal protective equipment and will ask for more targeted relief than Biden’s plan to issue checks $ 1,400 stimulus for most Americans.
Winning the support of 10 Republicans would be significant for Biden in the 50-50 Senate, where Vice President Kamala Harris is the tiebreaker. If all Democrats supported an eventual compromise bill, the legislation would reach the 60-vote limit needed to overcome potential blocking efforts and pass normal Senate procedures.
“In the spirit of bipartisanship and unity, we have developed a COVID-19 relief structure that is based on previous COVID assistance laws, all passed with bipartisan support,” wrote the Republican senators. “Our proposal reflects many of its stated priorities and, with your support, we believe that this plan could be quickly approved by Congress with bipartisan support.”
The call for Biden to give more time to bipartisan negotiations comes at a time when the president is showing signs of impatience as the most liberal wing of his party considers approving the aid package through a process known as budget reconciliation. This would allow the bill to proceed only with the support of its Democratic majority.
Republicans did not provide many details of their proposal. One of the signatories, Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, said it would cost about $ 600 billion.
“If you can’t find a bipartisan compromise at COVID-19, I don’t know where you can find it,” said Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, who also signed the letter.
But even when Biden extended the invitation to Republican lawmakers, Psaki said $ 1,400 relief checks, substantial funds to reopen schools, help for small businesses and injured families and more “is sorely needed.”
“As the leading economists said, the danger now is not to do too much: it is to do too little,” said Psaki. “Americans from both parties expect their leaders to find the moment.”
Biden also spoke on Sunday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who are facing increasing pressure from more liberal Democratic members to move forward with Biden’s legislation with or without Republican support.
The other Republican Party senators invited to meet with Biden are Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Shelley Moore Captain of West Virginia, Todd Young of Indiana, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Thom Tillis of North Caroline.
Brian Deese, the White House’s top economic adviser who is leading the government’s disclosure to Congress, said on Sunday that government officials were reviewing the letter. He did not immediately commit to a Biden meeting with lawmakers.
But Cedric Richmond, a senior adviser to Biden, said the president “is very willing to meet with anyone to advance the agenda”. When asked about the senators’ plan, Richmond said, “It’s about seriousness on purpose.”
Deese indicated that the White House may be open to negotiations to further limit who receives stimulus checks. Portman suggested that checks should go to people who earn no more than $ 50,000 a year and families with a limit of $ 100,000 a year.
Under the Biden plan, families with incomes of up to $ 300,000 could receive some stimulus money.
“This is certainly a place where we are willing to sit and think, are there ways to make the whole package more effective?” Deese said.
As a candidate, Biden predicted his decades in the Senate and his eight years as Vice President of Barack Obama gave him credibility as a negotiator and would help him bring Republicans and Democrats to a consensus on the most important issues facing the country.
But less than two weeks into his presidency, Biden showed frustration with the pace of negotiations at a time when the economy was showing more evidence of wear and tear from the pandemic. Last week, 847,000 Americans signed up for unemployment benefits, a sign that layoffs remain high as the coronavirus pandemic continues to escalate.
“I support the approval of the relief from COVID with the support of Republicans, if we can. But the relief from COVID has to go – without if, and with or but, ”said Biden on Friday.
In the letter, Republican lawmakers reminded Biden that in his inaugural speech, he proclaimed that the challenges facing the nation demand “the most elusive of things in a democracy: unity”.
Cassidy separately criticized Biden’s current plan as “full of donations and rewards to Democratic constituencies.”
“You want the patina of bipartisanship … so that’s not unity,” said Cassidy.
Jared Bernstein, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said Biden remains willing to negotiate, but officials need to see more details from Republicans. At the same time, Bernstein defended the government’s argument that doing too little to stimulate the economy could have a huge impact on the economy in the short and long term.
“You see, the American people really don’t give a damn about the budget process, be it regular order, bipartisanship, obstruction or reconciliation,” said Bernstein. “They need relief and they need it now.”
Portman and Deese were on CNN’s “State of the Union”, and Deese was also interviewed on NBC’s “Meet the Press”. Cassidy and Bernstein appeared on “Fox News Sunday” and Richmond on CBS’s “Face the Nation”.