A bipartisan group of senators is pushing the White House for more details on its $ 1.9 trillion bailout plan, and some on Sunday suggest to administration officials that President Biden needs to provide more information on how it would be spent. money and would consider dividing its ambitious legislation. in smaller proposals.
Sixteen senators from the two major parties and three White House aides met virtually Sunday afternoon to discuss Mr. American’s rescue plan. Biden. The one-hour, 15-minute call was created by moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
The relief plan proposed by Mr. Biden includes $ 400 billion to curb the spread of COVID-19 and increase vaccine capabilities; more than $ 1 trillion to help families in need of direct financial support; and $ 440 billion in emergency funds for small businesses and poor cash communities.
The package includes $ 1,400 stimulus checks that, combined with the recent round of $ 600 payments, bring the total relief sent to Americans to $ 2,000. The amount of direct aid to be sent to people was a key point in the negotiations of the relief package approved in late 2020. Other financial aid includes the extension of unemployment insurance by $ 100, the rise of the weekly total to $ 400 and the child tax increase. credit at $ 3,000 per child.
Participants at the meeting stressed that they are pressuring the administration to get more details on how quickly the vaccine can be distributed across the country, saying it is an urgent priority.
“There was no consensus that the number one priority is vaccination,” said Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent. “Nor can we set aside testing and monitoring. But there is a consensus that bottlenecks need to be identified, whether it be the production, distribution, administration of the vaccine and moving forward aggressively. Everyone thinks that’s the number one priority, and there was an absolute consensus on that. “
Some of the participants indicated that they would like the Senate to work out a framework for an agreement in the next two weeks, before the trial for the removal of former President Trump begins on February 8, but others said the trial of dismissal did not reach the summons. .
While some participants called the meeting “productive” and a good first step, Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who attended the meeting, considered it “premature” to discuss legislative actions of this size and scope. He said he would suggest a more “specific” package, especially focused on vaccine distribution.
Representatives of the call from both sides said they would pressure the Biden administration to get more clarity on how it calculated the potential federal aid needed for schools, states and cities. Some senators are asking for more information on how aid could be distributed to municipalities and states with cash problems.
King said there was a “good amount of discussion about the data” to find out how the aid was calculated.
“In other words, they have, I think, $ 130 billion for education,” King said. “Where does this come from? What is the basis? And there were questions about it. Another kind of detailed question is: how much money is still in preparation? How much has been committed and derived from relief packages? previous? “
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who was also part of Sunday’s meeting, said “more data would be helpful.”
He said there was a lot of discussion about “specific aid” to states, especially recognizing which states will have positive incomes and will require less aid.
“State and local needs are one of the things that has continued to be an issue,” Shaheen said. “It was a problem, as we were trying to create the last COVID package in December.”
But Shaheen defined it as a “really positive start.”
“The fact that we have a new administration not even a week at work and they are contacting the bipartisan group of senators who were really important in getting the latest COVID aid package,” Shaeen said. “It was an opportunity to learn from the administration their reasoning about what’s in the COVID package and to ask us questions and express our views.”
Congress approved a $ 900 billion relief package in December, which several senators mentioned when discussing Sunday’s call.
“Remember, we just approved nearly a trillion dollars less than three weeks ago,” King said. “So we need to know where this is in terms of execution, how much has been distributed, how much is left, to what extent the money that has not been spent has been accounted for in the new proposal.”