Senate Republicans most likely to work with President Joe Biden on a new coronavirus stimulus project said on Sunday that they would support a project with less than a third of the $ 1.9 trillion he proposed for new direct US payments. $ 1,400, aid to state and local governments, and vaccine production and distribution.
The Republican Party proposal, to be launched on Monday, would come out at about $ 600 billion, said US Senator Bill Cassidy, R-La., On “Fox News Sunday”.
In saluting the Republican Party’s willingness to negotiate, the Director of the National Economic Council, Brian Deese, said on Sunday at CNN’s “State of the Union” that the $ 1.9 trillion amount was “calibrated for the economic crisis we face. “.
“What we really need to focus on now is: what do we need to get this economy back on track and what are the resources needed for that?” he said.
The Republican proposal came out a few days before the Democrats’ planned votes, aimed at avoiding an obstruction by the Republican Party and allowing Congress to approve Biden’s plan by a majority vote.
“The issue is not bipartisanship,” said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., On ABC’s “This Week” program.
“The point is to address the unprecedented crisis that we face now. If Republicans want to work with us, they have better ideas on how to deal with these crises, this is great. But to be honest with you, I haven’t heard that yet, ”said Sanders.
The proposed Republican pledge supported Biden’s proposals for more money to distribute vaccines and aid to small businesses, while apparently excluding the $ 350 billion in state and local aid, one of the top Democratic priorities.
Senate Republicans who signed a letter to Biden and asked to meet with him included Cassidy, Susan Collins from Maine, Mitt Romney from Utah, Bill Cassidy from Louisiana and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, all of whom worked with Democratic congressmen, including the NJ Rep Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist., In a coronavirus spending commitment bill last December that included $ 600 in direct payments.
His efforts spurred negotiations that led to Congress’ approval of a $ 900 billion stimulus package in the final days of the 116th Congress.
“The president’s team did not reach anyone in our group, whether Democratic or Republican, when it formed its proposal,” said Cassidy at Fox. to work together for a common solution. They do not.”
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One area of commitment may be the next round of stimulus checks. Cassidy said Republicans had proposed payments of $ 1,000 directed to low-income families, instead of the $ 1,400 under the current formula that would send checks to some families earning more than $ 400,000.
“Direct checks are designed to put money in the pockets of families who really need it,” said Deese on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We are certainly open to making the elements of this package more effective in achieving that goal.”
Another senator who signed the letter, Rob Portman of Ohio, opposed efforts this week by Democrats in both houses of Congress to pass a budget resolution that would allow them to avoid an obstruction in the Senate and approve the COVID-19 package by majority vote under a process known as reconciliation.
“What Democrats are talking about is, first, use it right away, without trying to reach a bipartisan agreement,” he told CNN.
But Portman voted for two budget resolutions in 2017 that prevented Senate Democrats from obstructing their efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (which failed by one vote), and which allowed them to pass their tax law that limited federal state tax deductions. and locations.
Democrats also learned a lesson from President Barack Obama’s administration, when Biden was vice president. A very small stimulus package, with the cost kept low to attract Republican support, was blamed for a lukewarm recovery after the Great Recession.
Then, Democrats spent months in a futile attempt to win the Republican Party’s support for Obama’s health bill, even adopting several amendments proposed by Republicans in Congress.
Jonathan D. Salant can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant.
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