WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden’s top aides on Sunday began talks with a group of moderate Republicans and Senate Democrats over a $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package as Biden faces growing winds in his effort to gain bipartisan support from his presidency’s initial legislative effort.
Lawmakers on the right question the wisdom of accumulating larger deficits, while those on the left urge Biden not to devote too much time to bipartisanship when the pandemic kills thousands of Americans every day and costs more jobs in the midst of tighten the restrictions of many communities.
At least a dozen senators met for an hour and 15 minutes in a virtual call with White House National Economic Council director Brian Deese and other senior White House officials. Many hope to pass a relief package before the trial of former President Donald Trump, which will begin in two weeks, gets Washington’s attention.
Senator Angus King, an independent from Maine, called the opening talks a “serious effort.”
“There was no hint of cynicism or lack of commitment to try to at least solve something,” King said. “If they were just trying to fix it, I don’t think I would have interrupted the Packers game.”
King told reporters that there was an “absolute consensus” among the group that the number one priority was to speed up vaccine distribution and expand testing and monitoring of COVID-19.
The White House did not seem to be dedicated to breaking the package or reducing the overall price, although it was pushing for bipartisan support. There was also no debate about the presence of a procedural action that could be done without Republicans, King said.
A key Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, later said, “It seems premature to consider a package of this size and scope.”
Collins said, instead, that he would bring the bipartisan group together “and see if we could come up with a more specific package.” She said in a statement that a bill with additional funding for vaccine distribution “would be useful.”
Senators on both sides raised questions about financial aid arrangements, particularly making direct payments of $ 1,400 to Americans better suited to recipients based on needs.
Senators also wanted more data on how the White House reached $ 1.9 trillion.
Many of the senators belong to a bipartisan group that reached the contours of the last COVID-19 agreement approved late last year. The call was joined by the two Caucus Solvers Problem leaders of the House, Representatives Josh Gottheimer, DN.J., and Tom Reed, RN.Y., who were also part of previous discussions.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, DN.H., told The Associated Press that no red lines were drawn. But he added that there was consensus among participants in the call: “The more objective the aid, the more effective it can be.”
Overall, “it was a conversation and it wasn’t about drawing lines in the sand,” Shaheen said. “It was about how we can work together to help the people of this country.”
White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients and White House Legislative Affairs Director Louisa Terrell also joined the call.
Outside the door, Biden has made it clear that quickly overcoming another round of coronavirus relief is a top priority as he tries to control the growing pandemic and related economic crisis, proving he can break the deadlock he has suffered. Congress for a long time. of the last two presidencies.
Biden and his aides in their public comments have stressed that their plan is a starting point and that it should be possible to find common ground on relief given the devastating impact the pandemic demands for both democratic states as for Republicans. With more than 412,000 dead and the economy losing jobs again, Biden has argued that there is no time to lose.
“We will continue to press because we can’t wait,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House’s deputy press secretary. “The fact that Washington has been blocked before does not mean that it must continue to be blocked
The focal point of Biden’s campaign, beyond healing the wounds created by the Trump presidency, was that he was a proven bipartisan business businessman, who would build on his decades in the Senate and deep relationships with Republicans to save partisan divisions.
Some Biden advisers saw with concern that the Senate, just days before the president’s term, was already at a deadlock over a power-sharing deal, with Republican leader Mitch McConnell refusing the demand. to keep the filibuster intact. Some Democrats wondered, if the Senate knotted over its basics, how could it get to a big deal?
In addition, some of Biden’s preferred methods of pressure and damage have been curtailed by the pandemic. While his address book remains one of the best in Washington, it will be much harder for Biden — at least for the foreseeable future — to pursue the face-to-face politics he prefers.
Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, before the meeting again raised concerns about the wisdom of the government participating in massive deficit spending.
“If we go beyond COVID, I think the economy will roar again,” Romney told Fox News Sunday. “And spending and borrowing trillions of dollars from the Chinese, among others, is not necessarily the best we can do to make our economy strong in the long run.
Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Independent who is arguing with Democrats, said he did not have high hopes for negotiations leading to Republican support and suggested Democrats should use budget reconciliation to pass it with a simple majority. The procedural tool would allow Democrats to push the package to approval without the 60-vote threshold normally needed to push legislation beyond an obstacle. Republicans used the same tool to pass the tax cut during the Trump administration.
“What we can’t do is wait weeks and weeks and months and months to move forward,” Sanders said. “We must act now. This is what Americans want. “
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Associated Press writer Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report.