Washington – A group of 10 Republican senators on Sunday have accepted President Biden’s invitation to the White House to discuss his COVID-19 financial aid package, shortly after that group had written to him to propose an alternative package. The president has proposed a $ 1.9 trillion plan – with $ 400 billion to curb the spread of COVID-19 and increase vaccination capabilities – and more than $ 1 trillion to help families in need of direct financial support.
“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 COVID-19 relief package,” the statement said. .
The White House said in a statement earlier Sunday night that Mr Biden had spoken to his main party leaders, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, as well as with moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins, the group’s leader.
The White House said Republicans were invited to a “full exchange of ideas.” Shortly after the White House statement, the ten senators released their joint statement on Sunday afternoon.
The Republican senators’ bid totals $ 600 billion, or less than a third the size of the package Biden is looking for, Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy said on “Fox News Sunday.” The plan envisions $ 160 billion for vaccine development and distribution, testing and screening, and an unspecified amount for direct payments to Americans and an extension of expanded unemployment benefits, according to the letter.
“In the spirit of bipartisanship and unity, we have developed a COVID-19 relief framework based on previous COVID assistance laws, which were passed with the support of bipartisanship,” the group wrote. “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 of the letter, said Sunday in an interview with CNN that direct payments would be more specific in its proposal, limiting checks to people reaching $ 50,000 and to couples who would reach $ 100,000.
Senators who signed the letter include Collins, Cassidy, Portman, 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 Dakota of South 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.”