Washington – A group of ten Republican senators will meet with President Biden on Monday to propose an alternative package of aid to COVID-19, as the White House and Congress Democrats prepare to move forward with the $ 1.9 trillion plan of Biden with or without the support of the Republican Party.
The GOP group, led by Sen. Susan Collins, wrote to Mr. Biden on Sunday to request a meeting, and the White House quickly issued an invitation to meet with the president for a “full exchange of ideas.”
“We appreciate the President’s prompt response to our letter and are pleased to accept his invitation to the White House tomorrow afternoon to discuss the way forward for the sixth bipartisan relief package COVID-19,” the statement said. group.
According to a summary of the proposal released Monday, the Republican senators’ bid totals about $ 618 billion, or less than a third of the size of the package Biden is seeking. The plan envisions $ 160 billion for vaccine development and distribution, and testing and screening, $ 132 billion for expanded unemployment benefits and $ 220 billion for a new round of direct payments.
Under the proposal, people who earn less than $ 40,000 will receive direct payments of $ 1,000 and couples who file jointly will receive $ 80,000. Checks are phased out for those earning more than $ 40,000, with no one making more than $ 50,000 eligible for payment. An additional $ 500 would also be paid for each dependent child or adult.
Extended unemployment benefits total $ 300 a week in addition to state benefits and would last through June. Biden has proposed extending these benefits until September.
“With the spirit of bipartisanship and unity, we have developed a COVID-19 relief framework based on pre-COVID assistance laws, which were passed with the support of bipartisanship,” the group wrote in its letter to Mr. Biden. “Our proposal reflects many of your stated priorities and, with your support, we believe this plan could be approved quickly by Congress with bipartisan support. We ask for the opportunity to meet with you to discuss our proposal in more detail. and how we can work together to meet the needs of the American people during this persistent pandemic. “
The group of Republican senators hopes their package could be a starting point for a bill that gets bipartisan support as Democrats in Congress prepare to move forward with a process known as budget conciliation to approve Mr. Biden’s plan by simple majority in the Senate.
Over the past week, Senate Republicans have done so criticized the $ 1.9 trillion price on Mr. Biden’s proposal and specifically the formula for distributing another round of direct cash payments. Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, one of the signatories to the letter, said Sunday in an interview with CNN that direct payments would be more objective in his proposal.
Senators who signed the charter include Collins, Portman, 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.
The GOP group will publish more details of its proposal on Monday.
Eight of the signatories were part of a bipartisan group of senators met spoke last week with Brian Deese, Mr. Biden’s chief economic adviser, on the administration’s coronavirus relief package. Deese said Sunday that the White House had planned to review the latest letter and indicated that the president is willing to meet with the group, but does not want to compromise on the basic provisions of his relief package.
“The president has repeatedly said he’s open to ideas wherever they come from, that we could improve the approach to really deal with this crisis,” Deese told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program. “What has no compromise is the need to move quickly in a holistic approach here … So we need to act comprehensively and act quickly, but we will continue to hold conversations as we move forward.”
Cedric Richmond, the president’s senior adviser, echoed Deese’s comments. explaining CBS’s “Face the Nation.” on Sunday, Mr Biden is “willing to meet with anyone” to move the process forward.
“The president said in his inaugural address that he wanted to work with both sides to help the American people,” Richmond said Sunday. “What we know about President Biden is that it’s never about him, it’s always about the people. So yes, he’s very willing to meet with anyone to advance the agenda.”