President Biden administration officials on Sunday held a call with a bipartisan group of senators to discuss the $ 1.9 trillion White House COVID-19 relief package.
Several senators confirmed their participation in the call, with a couple of Democratic senators describing the conversation as “productive.”
Whip of the Senate majority Dick Durbin
Dick Durbin: Fall of the Captain Insurrection: A PATRIOT Act 2.0? Sunday’s preview: all eyes on Biden administration to fight coronavirus Overnight healthcare – Fauci: Lack of ‘likely’ facts cost lives in fight against coronavirus | CDC changes COVID-19 vaccine guidelines to allow for a rare mix of Pfizer and Modern features | Senate chaos threatens to slow down Biden MORE agenda (D-Ill.) He categorized the discussion as “refreshing” and said it was “a long time ago” that the White House “was fully committed to tackling this pandemic with a scientific and federal leadership approach.”
“With the spirit of unity we saw Wednesday on the Capitol’s Western Front, the Senate must meet on a bipartisan basis and provide the resources the American people need to survive this pandemic and this long financial hardship.” he said.
His. Angus King
Angus King: The upcoming pandemic may be cyber: how the Biden administration can stop the bipartisan Senate band from talking to Biden’s assistant about coronavirus relief (Maine) he said in a tweet that the call focused on “political solutions,” adding that it was “remarkable in itself.”
“We continue to work together to accelerate the distribution of vaccines and support Americans during this pandemic,” he posted.
Brian Deese
Brian Deese Note: Biden Plays He Can Do It All The Hill’s Report 12:30: Next Steps in Trump’s Dismissal The Hill’s Morning Report: Biden’s Crisis Agenda Gets in the Wind, the director of the National Economic Council, hosted Zoom’s private call to which 16 senators, eight from each party, were invited to attend, according to reports from CNN i The Washington Post.
According to reports, call senators called for relief to be addressed to those who needed it most and called for vaccine distribution to be a top priority.
Upper house lawmakers investigated White House officials about the call, which lasted more than an hour, about where the stimulus money is essential, what the justification for a high spending is, and whether the $ 1,400 proposed direct controls could be further tailored to needs, several people involved told Post and CNN.
Louisa TerrellLouisa TerrellMORE, the White House director of legislative affairs and Jeff Zients
Jeff Zients Joint Vaccine Distribution Tests Early Biden Biden Under Pressure to Produce More Shots of COVID-19 Fauci: We’re Not “Starting from Zero” in Vaccine Distribution, the White House’s COVID-19 response coordinator, also joined the call as reported by the senator. Joe Manchin
Joseph (Joe) ManchinEnergy at night: Biden EPA calls on Justice Department to pause defense of Trump-era rules | The company appeals to the rejection of Pebble Mine | Granholm energy election to be heard on Wednesday Biden nomination hearing Granholm’s energy selection is scheduled for Wednesday in the bipartisan Senate band to talk to Biden’s assistant about coronavirus relief MORE (DW.Va.).
The White House did not immediately return any requests for comment.
Prior to the call, Deese told reporters he wanted to stress to senators that “we are in a precarious time for the virus and the economy,” and noted that “decisive action” is needed to avoid “falling into a very serious economic hole.” “. ”According to the Post.
The $ 1.9 trillion plan also includes an extension of emergency unemployment benefits past mid-March and raising the federal minimum wage to $ 15 per hour, in addition to direct controls.
Several Republicans have criticized the Biden administration’s plan for being too expensive, and GOP senators expressly express concern over the minimum wage increase during the call, two family members told the Post.
“There are still a lot of unanswered questions, especially how the administration came up with $ 1.9 trillion needed, as our figures show that there is still about $ 1.8 trillion left to spend,” the senator said. . Susan Collins
Susan Margaret Collins: The Hill’s Morning Report: Biden Crisis Agenda Hits Republican Party Senators, Say Only A Few Republicans Will Vote to Condemn Trump for Biden, Senate Trial Could Help Bipartisanship Around Relief of COVID MORE (R-Maine) told the Post. “We look forward to more data documenting the need.”
Several Republicans have suggested that Biden and Democrats might have more luck approving individual pieces of the bill instead of the full package.
“The president wants to expand unemployment benefits if people are still unemployed, this is certainly something we would look at. Lately, we thought that states needed help, a bailout for states and localities that may have suffered a reduction of your income.It’s adequate, but the total figure is pretty shocking, if you will. ” His. Mitt Romney
Willard (Mitt) Mitt Romney Sunday shows preview: All eyes on Biden administration to fight coronavirus The Hill’s Morning Report: Biden crisis agenda hits winds against GOP senators say only a few few Republicans will vote to condemn Trump MORE (R-Utah) said Sunday morning.
But one person on the call told CNN that the White House still wants to move forward with the $ 1.9 trillion package instead of splitting parts into smaller accounts.
“President Biden and his advisers will continue to engage and consult with bipartisan groups of legislators, even today, to argue why urgent action is needed to obtain relief for affected communities and families and more resources for public health officials because we can expand increased vaccinations, “a White House official told the network.