The Biden government may be open to adjusting eligibility levels for the next round of coronavirus stimulus checks to ensure the relief flow for families who need emergency funds most, said the president’s chief economic adviser Tuesday morning. -market.
Brian Deese, who joined CNBC’s “Squawk Box” from the White House, said he received Republican feedback in recent days and the party’s focus on directing President Joe Biden’s aid plan to those in financial distress.
“With regard to checks, we presented a proposal that … was passed in the House with 275 votes – 44 Republicans voted in favor,” said Deese, director of the National Economic Council, referring to the bill approved by the House in December, which included $ 2,000 in direct payments, as proposed by then President Donald Trump.
“Certainly, if there are ways to make this provision, and other provisions, more effective, this is something we are open to, and about which we will have conversations,” he added.
Deese’s comments came at a time when the president’s $ 1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan faces criticism from a bipartisan group of lawmakers who hope to reduce the price of the proposal by passing it in parts or restricting requirements for families and individuals qualify for another round of checks.
White House officials, including Deese, spoke on Sunday with several moderate Democratic and Republican senators to discuss possible changes to Biden’s original plan.
“It was a good call, it was a constructive conversation. And that is part of the process,” said Deese of Sunday’s discussion. “The president has presented a plan, we are now engaging with members of Congress from both parties to consult them.”
As written, the president’s plan requires funds to streamline vaccinations, a weekly unemployment supplement of $ 400, state and local government support, and a minimum wage of $ 15. It also calls for $ 1,400 stimulus checks, which commit about $ 1 trillion of the proposed $ 1.9 trillion total.
For Democrats, who hold a razor then a majority in the Senate, opposition to any party member’s bill puts the legislation at risk. The chamber is currently split 50-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tiebreaker.
Thus, initial opposition to the size of Senator Joe Manchin’s bill, DW.Va., forced the Biden government to seek the support of more moderate members of the Republican Party, including Sens. Lisa Murkowski from Alaska and Mitt Romney from Utah.
Even before Biden took office, Manchin, the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, said he would “absolutely” oppose another coronavirus relief check for Americans. He later clarified that he wants to ensure that any new round of stimuli is targeted only at those who need it.
He and his Republican colleagues also argue that it may be too early to fully assess the economic benefits of the $ 900 billion stimulus package approved by Congress in December, which included checks for $ 600.
In the midst of the bipartisan dispute, Biden said on Monday that he would consider restricting eligibility for checks if that could help ensure Republican support in Congress. The president months ago named Covid-19 and emergency aid as his number one priority.
“As a bipartisan, I thought it would increase prospects for approval – the additional $ 1,400 in direct cash payments to people,” Biden told a news conference. “Well, is there a legitimate reason why people say, ‘Did you draw the lines exactly? Should you go to anyone who makes more than X dollars or why?'”
“I am open to negotiating these things,” he added. “That is all.”
The debate over another round of stimulus checks comes as millions of Americans remain unemployed thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic and the recession it unleashed last year.
The Labor Department reported on Thursday that 900,000 Americans filed for state unemployment benefits for the first time during the week ending January 16. Meanwhile, the U.S. unemployment rate stood at 6.7% in December, which, before the Covid-19 global crisis was the highest unemployment rate since March 2014.
Betsy Heimbuch, a resident of Jamestown, New York, told CNBC that she and her husband are struggling with rising costs of items of daily use triggered by the pandemic.
She wrote in an email that she receives income from the Social Security Disability Insurance program and that she spent her first stimulus check to buy a Skype smartphone with her husband, who is in a nursing home.
“The cost of groceries is staggering. I’m living on cottage cheese and fruit. My milk runs out on Monday and I don’t have any extra money, I’ll buy more until next Wednesday,” wrote Heimbuch, 75, by email. “I feel more stressed now than I did last summer. I take medication against anxiety. I wear a mask all the time and practice social detachment. But I see neighbors making trips and going back and forth without masks.”
“The stimulus relieves STRESS a lot,” she added.
Many influential economists, including Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, have warned that high levels of unemployment could lead to an even greater increase in homelessness if Congress does not extend eviction moratoriums or approve additional stimulus.
About 18% of renters in the U.S., or about 10 million people, are behind on rent payments in early January. This is much more than the nearly 7 million homeowners who lost their properties due to foreclosure during the subprime mortgage crisis and the Great Recession, more than 10 years ago.