Washington – Some Republican senators have expressed concern over the $ 1.9 trillion price President Biden’s proposal to new coronavirus relief bill, as congressional Democrats consider following a procedure to pass legislation without Republican votes.
Congress passed a $ 900 billion relief bill late last month, but Biden and congressional Democrats have argued that more action is needed to stabilize the economy. Republicans have noted that not all funds provided by this act have been distributed.
“The administration sent a $ 1.9 trillion proposal, weeks after we just approved the $ 900 billion that has not yet been accounted for,” the GOP senator told reporters on Tuesday. Rob Portman. He argued that some provisions of the Biden bill, such as raising the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour and providing funds for cybersecurity, were unrelated to the pandemic.
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Democrats have the narrowest possible majority in the House with 50 seats and Vice President Kamala Harris is casting a tiebreaker vote. Most legislation requires 60 votes to end the debate and establish a full vote on the Senate floor. That means Democrats will have to get the support of ten Republicans unless they choose a method of passing legislation known as budget conciliation, which only requires a simple majority vote.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday he told fellow Democrats that they should be prepared to vote on a budget resolution as early as next week, which would be the first step in starting the budget reconciliation process.
“Our group is united because we need a big bold change,” Schumer told reporters. Still, he said “we always look forward to it [Republicans will] see the light, ”he noted, and Republicans could vote in favor of the proposal, even if they continue to reconcile the budget.
Senator Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said Democrats were already working on drafting legislation for budget conciliation.
“We’re working on it now,” Sanders said. “I think there’s consensus. If Republicans aren’t ready to join, that’s fine. We won’t wait. We’ll move forward quickly and aggressively.”
Republican Sen. Todd Young told reporters Monday that he does not believe there will be a bipartisan COVID agreement unless “there is a significant move by the administration.” Biden has promised to work with Republicans, and Portman said Tuesday it would be a “big mistake” for Democrats to use budget reconciliation instead of trying to negotiate with Republicans to draft bipartisan legislation.
“I think it will really be the call of the White House and Democrats on whether they want to work with a bipartisan team to improve legislation or whether they want to promote reconciliation, a bill that only involved one party,” he said Tuesday in the press Republican Sen. Mitt Romney.
A bipartisan group of 16 senators spoke Sunday with Biden administration officials to discuss coronavirus legislation. The one-hour, 15-minute call was created by moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
While some participants called the meeting “productive” and a good first step, Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who attended the meeting, called 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.
Collins said he received more information Monday about the White House proposal, but still needed more details.
“The administration is sending and has sent us some data to give us more details about the details of their package. We just got it and we are starting to review it. So it’s a good step, but it’s not there yet. there has been an answer to the question of how much money is still to be allocated, “Collins told reporters on Tuesday.
Democrats have not yet ruled out using budget reconciliation to approve the coronavirus relief. Lawmakers “have to do it,” Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Tuesday.
“I will not let America’s unemployed people at a time when the numbers grow be kicked out of an economic cliff,” Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden said Monday.
Jack Turman contributed the information.