Washington – President Biden invited Republican senators to the White House on Sunday to discuss his COVID-19 economic aid package, hours after a group of 10 GOP senators wrote to him to propose an alternative package. The president has one $ 1.9 trillion plan, with $ 400 billion to slow the spread of COVID-19 and increase vaccine capacity, and more than $ 1 trillion to help families in need of immediate financial support.
The White House said in a statement Sunday evening that Mr. Biden had spoken with his main party leaders – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Chuck Schumer – as well as prominent Republican moderate Senator Susan Collins, the leader of the group.
The White House said the Republicans had been invited to a “full exchange of ideas.”
The bid from Republican senators totals $ 600 billion, or less than a third of the size of the package Mr. Biden is seeking, said Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy on “Fox News Sunday.” The plan calls for $ 160 billion for vaccine development and distribution and vaccine testing and tracing, and an unspecified amount for direct payments to Americans and an extension of comprehensive unemployment benefits, the letter said.
“In the spirit of duality and unity, we have developed a COVID-19 emergency response framework that builds on previous COVID assistance laws, all of which have been passed with bipartisan support,” the group wrote. “Our proposal reflects many of your stated priorities, and with your support, we believe that this plan could be quickly approved by Congress with the support of two parties. We invite you to meet for the opportunity to discuss our proposal in more detail. and how we can work together to meet the needs of the American people during this ongoing pandemic. ”
The group of Republican senators is hoping their package can be a starting point for a bill that gains bipartisan support as Congressional Democrats prepare to move forward with a process known as budget reconciliation to pass Mr. Biden’s plan by simple majority in the Senate.
In the past week, Senate Republicans have done just that criticized the $ 1.9 trillion price tag on Mr. Biden’s proposal and specifically the formula for splitting another round of cash out direct payments. Ohio Senator Rob Portman, one of the signatories to the letter, said in an interview with CNN on Sunday that direct payments would be more targeted in their proposal, limiting checks to individuals to $ 50,000 and couples to $ 100,000.
Senators who signed the letter include Collins, Cassidy, Portman, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Todd Young of Indiana, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Thom Tillis from North. Carolina.
The GOP group will release more details of its proposal on Monday.
Eight of the signatories were part of a bipartisan group of senators spoke last week with Brian Deese, Mr Biden’s chief economic adviser, on the government’s coronavirus relief package. Deese said on Sunday that the White House planned to revise the latest letter, indicating that the president is willing to meet with the group but is unwilling to compromise on the core provisions of his aid package.
“The president has said repeatedly that he is open to ideas wherever they go, that we can improve the approach to actually address this crisis,” Deese said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “What he is uncompromising about is the need to move quickly with an all-encompassing approach here … So we have to act comprehensively and we have to act quickly, but we will continue to have discussions as we move forward.”
Cedric Richmond, a senior adviser to the president, echoed Deese’s comments: CBS ‘Face the Nation’ on Sunday that Mr Biden is “ready to meet someone” to help the process move forward.
“The president said in his inauguration address that he wanted to work with both sides to help the American people,” Richmond said on Sunday. “What we know about President Biden is that it’s never about him, it’s always about the people. So yes, he is very willing to meet with everyone to move the agenda forward. ‘