President Joe Biden said on Friday that he would not reduce direct payments of the proposed $ 1,400, as the House’s final approval for a budget resolution meant that lawmakers could start drafting the $ 1 coronavirus-stimulating legislation , 9 trillion.
Speaking at the White House, Biden said the new checks, combined with the $ 600 payments approved in December. it would give most Americans the $ 2,000 it promised. A group of 10 Republicans in the House proposed reducing the last round of checks to $ 1,000.
“I’m not reducing the size of checks,” said Biden. “They will cost $ 1,400. Period. This is what was promised to the American people. “
Biden later said that the House passed a budget resolution mainly in accordance with party lines, 219-209, allowing any bill that Congress produces to be passed by a majority vote, without the threat of obstruction.
Although no Republicans in the House or Senate voted in favor of the resolution, several Republican or bipartisan amendments were included. Biden said he was willing to negotiate their support with the Republicans, but he wanted quick approval of the bill. The goal is to approve it by mid-March, when the current benefits of extended unemployment insurance expire.
“I told Republicans and Democrats that it’s my preference: to work together,” said Biden. “But if I have to choose between getting help now for Americans who are suffering so much and getting stuck in a long negotiation or compromising a bill that depends on the crisis, that’s an easy choice. I will help the American people who are suffering now. “
Adding a sense of urgency on Friday, it was a US Department of Labor report showing that the economy created just 49,000 jobs last month, after losing 227,000 jobs in December.
“It is clear that there is a need for urgent and sustained action during this crisis,” said Jared Bernstein, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
In its recent report, Moody’s Analytics said Biden’s plan “would give a big boost to the economy if passed by law” and help create 7.5 million jobs this year and another 2.5 million jobs next year, fully recovering all the jobs lost since the pandemic arrived.
Although Biden refused to break the package, a bipartisan group of more moderate lawmakers on Friday recommended that he do just that. Problem Solvers Caucus, co-chaired by Representative Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, called for the rapid approval of $ 160 billion for vaccines, while discussions continued on the rest of the project.
“We just can’t wait weeks after weeks to launch more vaccines,” said Gottheimer, D-5th Dist.
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Meanwhile, Governor Phil Murphy joined New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to claim a portion of the $ 350 billion proposal in state and local aid proportional to the fact that both states were among the hardest hit by the coronavirus when he came to this country.
“We were defeated,” said Murphy.
Cuomo said that when disaster strikes, the most damaged areas receive the most help. It must happen here, he said.
“When a state is hit by a hurricane, that state gets relief,” said Cuomo. “It is not that all states receive relief. Our state and region paid the highest price. “
United States Democratic Senator Robert Menendez will be one of the senators who helped draft the formula for distributing COVID federal assistance to state and local governments.
“Governors were absolutely certain that we should treat COVID’s assistance as federal disaster assistance after a hurricane in which you direct resources to the hardest hit areas,” said Menendez. “New Jersey has been one of the hardest hit states and we need the federal government to present itself on a large scale.”
Jonathan D. Salant can be contacted at [email protected].
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