Axios
10 Senate Republicans propose agreement with Biden over COVID relief package
A group of 10 Senate Republicans, led by Senator Susan Collins (Maine), sent a letter to President Biden on Sunday requesting a meeting with the president, saying they had developed a counter proposal to the president’s COVID-19 aid plan. The proposal includes $ 160 billion in spending on vaccines, testing and screening, treatment and medical equipment. Senators said the plan “could be quickly approved by Congress with bipartisan support” if it won Biden’s support. Support safe, smart and sensible journalism. Sign up for Axios Newsletters here. * The senators’ proposal includes a measure to renew unemployment insurance that expires in March. It also seeks to send a new round of direct payments to the “families most in need of assistance” and to send additional aid to small businesses. * “Our proposal reflects many of your stated priorities,” wrote the senators. What they are saying: “In the spirit of bipartisanship and unity, we have developed a COVID-19 relief structure that is based on previous COVID assistance laws, all of which have been approved with bipartisan support,” wrote the senators. Between the lines: Biden said he prefers a bipartisan approach to obtaining his plan in Congress, writes Axios Hans Nichols. * But he did not rule out relying solely on the Democrats’ votes to approve his proposal through budgetary reconciliation, which requires a simple majority in the Senate. Nancy Pelosi signaled last week that Democrats would seek to use the tactic if they failed to garner Republican support. What’s new: National Economic Council director Brian Deese told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday morning that the White House “saw the letter and will review it throughout the day. ”Next steps: the senators will reveal more details of the plan on Monday, by the Politico. Go deeper: the White House plans a “full court press” for a $ 1.9 trillion bailout plan. Get smarter and faster with the news that CEOs, entrepreneurs and politicians read. Sign up for Axios Newsletters here.