Joe Biden is considering asking Congress to help Americans in two steps: give them the balance of their coveted $ 2,000 coronavirus payments, followed by a $ 3 trillion tax and infrastructure package.
Why it matters: Biden is confident that he can get multiple packages through Congress after the Democrats win both Senate elections in Georgia. The president-elect’s team also wants to get cash into the hands of Americans as soon as possible, according to people familiar with the case.
The big picture: In July, Biden introduced its Build Back Better plan, which includes billions of dollars for healthcare providers, incentives for manufacturers, and about $ 4 trillion for green jobs and infrastructure spending.
- He proposed paying for this plan with a series of tax increases for the wealthy, including taxing capital gains as fixed income and raising the marginal tax rate for top earners to nearly 40%.
Democrats are concerned that if they miss early opportunities to fight COVID and reverse its broader effect on the economy, the dual problems could paralyze the rest of Biden’s presidency.
- The first bite would come in the form of $ 1,400 payments to be added to the $ 600 in cash that Congress approved last month. Also included in this fast-paced package would be money for government and local aid, as well as funding for vaccine distribution.
- Biden’s push for a tax and infrastructure plan, which is part of his “Build Back Better” program, will slide later in the spring and will be considered under budget reconciliation rules.
- They allow the Senate to take action with a simple majority, rather than a more challenging filibuster-proof 60 votes.
Returning to Plan A: Biden is essentially dusting off his pre-election plans, when many of his economic and political advisers thought that if he won the presidency, he would carry the senate with him.
- Those ambitions were called into question when Republicans were strong in the Senate on election day and the Democrats’ only hope of regaining majority was if they won Tuesday’s two consecutive elections.
Be smart: Biden’s blitz for a quick spending measure could allow him to build goodwill among Senate Republicans for a larger package in the spring, especially if it includes liability protections the GOP wants for companies fearful of coronavirus lawsuits.
- It will also be an early test of how cooperative Senate Republicans will be as a minority party.