Joe Biden Stimulus Plan can be Democrat only despite cordial GOP rally

Photographer: Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images

President Joe Biden and the Democrats of Congress indicated they intend to pass a major pandemic bill, possibly without Republican backing, even after a White House meeting with GOP senators on Monday that was considered prolific by both parties described.

While the 10 senators who participated describe the meeting as “excellent” with “a very productive exchange of views,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a joint statement that Biden had emphasized that Congress needed to act urgently and “courageously” and pointed out much disagreement with the Republicans.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, introduced a budget resolution on Monday, the first step needed to use a procedure called “ budget reconciliation, ” bringing much of Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion stimulus with just 51 votes can pass through the Senate.

Biden and the 10 Republicans agreed that their aides would continue to negotiate a two-pronged emergency plan. Legislation is the president’s top priority, and to give in to a GOP proposal one-third the size would be considered defeat by his supporters on the left.

While Biden is “hopeful” that what he calls the US bailout “can succeed with bipartisan support, a reconciliation package is one way to achieve that goal,” Psaki said. Using reconciliation, Democrats could pass the bill in the Senate with just their 50 votes plus that of Vice President Kamala Harris.

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Nevertheless, Senator Susan Collins of Maine called the two-hour White House meeting “useful” and that Biden had explained “more in-depth” parts of his $ 1.9 trillion plan and that the 10 Republicans set out their counter-proposal.

“I wouldn’t say we got together on a package tonight. Nobody expected that, ”she told reporters afterwards. Still, the two sides agreed that assistants should continue the talks, she added.

The president clearly managed to charm his guests. The Republicans were the first lawmakers known to have met him in the White House since his inauguration on Jan. 20.

“I was the first to talk about a specific topic. I said, ‘Mr. President, I don’t want to appear rude, ” Senator Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, told an interview. ‘He said,’ Listen, I’ve attended all these negotiations. We will have different points of view on some things. We will agree on a number of things. And if we disagree, we are not rude. ”

Cassidy added that Biden revealed additional details of his proposal, including a plan to use some of the $ 50 billion he has requested for vaccinations to expand genomic testing, which will reveal new and potentially more dangerous strains of the virus. can identify.

The meeting was organized after the Republican group presented their alternative emergency plan to the White House on Sunday.

“I to feel like I’m back in the Senate, ”Biden joked to reporters, who were only allowed to observe the meeting for about 40 seconds before being ushered out of the Oval Office.

Collins said “We are all concerned about struggling families, faltering small businesses,” the “overwhelmed healthcare system,” and the acceleration of coronavirus vaccinations.

Obviously, the Republican proposal – with a price tag of $ 618 billion – is not enough for the Democrats, who have prepared a party line on Capitol Hill with a plan largely similar to Biden’s. They have warned that spending too little money on vaccinations, testing, and support for pandemic-affected Americans could prolong economic woes.

The Republican plan lowers Biden’s proposed stimulus controls from $ 1,400 to $ 1,000 with tighter income limits, eliminates Biden’s minimum wage hike, and includes only $ 20 billion for schools – compared to $ 170 billion in the White House plan. The GOP proposal also provides less generous unemployment benefits and omits $ 350 billion in emergency funding for state and local governments sought by the Democrats.

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Cassidy said Republicans asked Biden for more information about the school funding in his plan, arguing that Congress had already provided nearly three times as much as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated needed to resume in-person classes. Biden agreed “to try to give us a justification” for his larger proposal, Cassidy said.

There could be room for negotiation: The Republican plan includes $ 160 billion in vaccine, testing and personal protective equipment spending that the White House is looking for, while some GOP senators who attended the rally said they could provide funding support for state budgets devastated by the pandemic.

Some members of Biden’s own economic team have questioned the size and scope of his stimulus check proposal, and were concerned that aid to wealthier Americans might come at the expense of other priorities. And a vote in the party line would require the support of Democratic senators such as Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who have expressed reservations about the cost.

Democrats could still aim to incorporate discarded elements of the president’s proposal into a subsequent package, with Biden expected to outline an even larger stimulus and infrastructure proposal by the end of the month. The president, who has stressed the need for unity in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidency and last month’s riot at the Capitol, has expressed an eagerness to work across the aisle.

If he were able to get support for his package from the 10 Republicans he met, he would avoid a possible filibuster by the GOP, and the Democrats could avoid reconciliation, which could have political repercussions.

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Many Democrats say former President Barack Obama squandered a legislative advantage early in his presidency by talking to Republicans who rejected health care stimulus and initiatives despite attempts to cast their votes. And the party’s left flank – which backed progressives like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren in the presidential primaries – has long voiced concern.Biden is too concerned about maintaining collegiate relationships with his former Senate colleagues and plotting a moderate path. .

Cassidy complimented Biden’s approach to the talks and compared him favorably to his GOP predecessor.

“Someone once said that you can see President Trump running some hotels because when you get there, he is very gracious and pulls you in. The same goes for President Biden, but clearly their styles are very different without too much. say, ”said Cassidy. So they made you both to feel Welcome. President Biden went more to, ‘Let’s look at the data. Okay, our data may not agree, but let’s get back to you. ”

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