WASHINGTON (AP) – Top officials of President Joe Biden opened Sunday with a group of moderate Republicans and Senate Democrats over a $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package as Biden faces increasing headwinds in his bid to gain bipartisan support for the initial legislative effort from him. presidency.
Lawmakers on the right question the wisdom of building larger deficits, while those on the left are urging Biden not to spend too much time on bipartisanship as the pandemic kills thousands of Americans every day and costs more jobs amid tougher restrictions in many communities.
At least a dozen senators met for an hour and 15 minutes in a virtual conversation with Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council and other senior White House officials. Many hope to approve an aid package before former President Donald Trump’s trial, which begins in two weeks, catches Washington’s attention.
Senator Angus King, an independent from Maine, called the opening lectures a “serious effort.”
“There was no hint of cynicism or lack of commitment to at least try to work something out,” said King. “If they just tried to block this, I don’t think it would have interrupted the Packers game.”
King told reporters there was “absolute consensus” among the group that the # 1 priority was to speed up vaccination distribution and to expand COVID-19 testing and tracking.
The White House didn’t seem to give in to breaking the package or lowering the overall price tag, even though it pushed for bipartisan support. There was also no discussion of going ahead with a procedural move that could be done without Republicans, King said.
A major Republican, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, said afterwards, “It seems premature to consider a package of this size and scope.”
Collins said she would instead bring the two-tier group together “and see if we could come up with a more targeted package.” She said in a statement that a bill with additional funding for vaccine distribution “would be helpful.”
Senators from both parties raised questions about the provisions for economic aid, particularly by matching direct payments of $ 1,400 to Americans more towards recipients based on need.
Senators also wanted more data on how the White House hit the $ 1.9 trillion mark.
Many of the senators come from a bipartisan group that hit the contours of the latest COVID-19 deal approved late last year. The two leaders of the House’s Problem Solvers Caucus, Reps. Josh Gottheimer, DN.J., and Tom Reed, RN.Y., took part in the call, which were also part of previous discussions.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, DN.H., told The Associated Press that no red lines were drawn. But she added that there was consensus among the call participants “that the more targeted the aid is, the more effective it can be.”
Overall, “it was a conversation and it wasn’t about drawing lines in the sand,” Shaheen said. “It was about how we can work together to help the people of this country.”
White House response coordinator to the coronavirus Jeff Zients and White House Director of Legislative Affairs Louisa Terrell also took part in the call.
Out of the gate, Biden has made it clear that passing another round of coronavirus control quickly is a top priority as he seeks to contain the rising pandemic and related economic crisis, while demonstrating that he can break the deadlock that has left it. Congress has faced many problems from the last two presidencies.
Biden and his aides have emphasized in their public comments that his plan is a starting point and that finding common ground for emergency relief should be feasible given the devastating impact the pandemic is demanding on both Democratic and Republican states. With more than 412,000 deaths and job losses due to the economy, Biden has argued there is no time to waste.
“We’re going to keep pushing because we can’t wait,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Deputy Press Secretary. Just because Washington has been bogged down before, doesn’t mean it should be blocked any further
In addition to healing the wounds inflicted by Trump’s presidency, Biden took center stage on being a proven two-party deal maker, one who would draw on his decades in the Senate and deep relationships with Republicans to bridge partisan divisions.
Some Biden advisers watched with concern as the Senate reached a deadlock over a power-sharing deal just days after the presidential term, with Republican leader Mitch McConnell refusing to give in to a demand to keep the filibuster intact. If the Senate is getting into a knot over its founding principles, some Democrats have wondered, how could it turn into a major problem?
In addition, some of Biden’s favorite methods of lobbying and schmoozing have been curtailed by the pandemic. While his address book remains one of the best in Washington, it will be much more difficult – at least for the foreseeable future – for Biden to participate in the personal politics he prefers.
Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, reiterated concern ahead of the meeting about the government’s wisdom to issue massive deficits.
“If we get past COVID, I think the economy will come back,” Romney told Fox News Sunday. “And spending and borrowing trillions of dollars from the Chinese, among others, is not necessarily the best we can do to make our economy strong in the long run.
Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who consults with the Democrats, said he did not have high expectations of negotiations leading to Republican support, and suggested that Democrats might need to use budget reconciliation to make it pass by a simple majority. The procedural tool would allow Democrats to approve the package without the 60-vote threshold typically required to pass legislation beyond a filibuster. Republicans used the same tool to implement tax cuts during the Trump administration.
“What we can’t do is wait weeks and weeks and months and months to move forward,” Sanders said. ‘We must act now. That’s what the American people want. “
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Associated Press writer Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report.