Washington – The group of ten Republican senators who want to negotiate with President Biden a new round of COVID-19 reliefs unveiled details of his proposal Monday, hours before lawmakers show up. ready to meet with the president in the White House.
The group’s proposal, led by Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, totals about $ 618 billion, or about a third of the size of the $ 1.9 trillion plan presented by the president and Democratic leaders in Congress. The group’s counteroffer comes when Congress Democrats prepare to move forward with the plan proposed by the administration, with or without Republican Party support.
“Mr. President, we recognize your calls for unity and we want to work in good faith with your administration to address the health, economic and social challenges of the COVID crisis,” the senators said in a joint statement. “We look forward to discussing our proposal in detail this afternoon at the White House.”
The GOP plan calls for another round of direct payments to taxpayers, but would limit the level of income of those who are eligible to receive them to a lower level than previous aid wheels. People earning less than $ 40,000 would receive $ 1,000, with a reduced amount for those earning between $ 40,000 and $ 50,000.
Couples who submit together will receive double that amount, with a reduced amount for those earning more than $ 80,000, up to $ 100,000. An additional $ 500 would be provided for each dependent child or adult. Previous rounds of direct payments were based on the income reported in the 2019 tax returns. Mr. Biden’s plan requires $ 1,400 checks for most low- and middle-income people.
The proposal would also expand federal unemployment insurance to $ 300 a week through June 30, in addition to state benefits. Biden has sought an extension of the $ 400-a-week unemployment benefit through September.
The plan includes $ 160 billion for a national vaccine program, production of personal protective equipment and extended testing, as well as an injection of $ 40 billion into the Check Protection Program to provide loans to small businesses. It will also allocate $ 20 billion in an initiative to get children back to school and expand the extended SNAP benefits through September at a cost of $ 3 billion.
The Republican Party proposal does not include any funds allocated to state and local governments and does not mention raising the federal minimum wage, both key priorities of the administration package.
Senators who have signed the proposal include Collins, Rob Portman of Ohio, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, 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 of North Carolina.
Biden is scheduled to meet with the group on Monday to discuss his administration’s proposal and plan. The White House said the president is open to a “full exchange of ideas.”
Ed O’Keefe contributed the reports.