- Republicans launched attacks on the Biden stimulus plan during Yellen’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
- Senator Chuck Grassley called it a “laundry list of liberal structural economic reforms”.
- The audience probably presages the fierce opposition that many parts of Biden’s economic agenda will encounter on Capitol Hill.
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Senate Republicans stepped up their criticism of President-elect Joe Biden’s economic bailout package on Tuesday, indicating that he is likely to encounter strong resistance among Republican lawmakers fearful of supporting more federal spending.
During Janet Yellen’s confirmation hearing – Biden’s choice as Treasury secretary – Republicans tried to put her on the defensive against Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion economic aid plan.
Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the outgoing chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, criticized the plan as a “liberal structural economic reform dress list” in his introductory comments.
Then, the Republicans began to launch attacks against him.
Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the second Senate Republican, said he was concerned about “the huge debt we have accumulated” and urged lawmakers not to minimize it in the coming months. It increased during President Donald Trump’s term, when Republicans enacted a major tax cut for companies in 2017.
Yellen also contested Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina’s arguments that a $ 15 minimum wage – a key clause in the plan – would cause massive job losses. She pointed to a large body of research that indicates in neighboring states, where one increases hourly wages and the other does not, job losses are “minimal” in the state that has increased workers’ pay.
Sen. Pat Toomey, of Pennsylvania, warned of “another burst of spending” as a result of Biden’s economic administration. He later said to Yellen: “I look forward to working with you, but I have to admit that the outline of the stimulus bill, as proposed by the Biden government, will make this difficult.”
The audience probably presages the fierce opposition that many parts of Biden’s economic agenda will encounter on Capitol Hill. As secretary of the Treasury, Yellen will play a crucial role, driving the government’s plans through a divided Congress. Democrats will have a minimal majority in both the House and the Senate.
Yellen defended the huge amount of spending that Biden is looking for. She argued that the economic recovery would be in jeopardy unless Congress moved quickly to approve more federal aid to mitigate the devastation caused by the pandemic, particularly among women and minority communities.
She also sought to assuage the Republican alarm over the prospect of tax increases during an economic recession, as it is a central part of Biden’s economic agenda. “The focus now is on providing relief and helping families keep a roof over their heads and food on the table, not on raising taxes,” she said.
Biden introduced a $ 1.9 trillion economic aid package last week, which contained a wide range of aid provisions. They included federal unemployment benefits, direct payments, expanded tax credits for low-income Americans, assistance for state and local governments and vaccine distribution funds.
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