CNBC contributor Ben White said President Joe Biden “wants to make a bipartisan deal” when it comes to his administration’s $ 1.9 trillion stimulus plan to get America out of its crisis economic.
“He doesn’t want to exploit the filibuster in the Senate,” said White, who is also Politico’s chief economic correspondent. “He’d like to come to an agreement on a big package, maybe not two trillion dollars, but something close to that, that he has unemployment insurance, that he has $ 1,400 checks and the rest, that’s his main goal, try to do it “.
Biden promised to act quickly and fix the U.S. economy during his second full day in office. He called his plan a “moral obligation” to provide financial assistance to millions of Americans and signed two executive orders on Friday. One focused on raising the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour, while the other expanded the benefits of the federal food stamp.
“We can’t let people go hungry,” Biden proclaimed. “We can’t let people be evicted for anything they did themselves. They can’t see how people lose their jobs. And we have to act. We have to act now.”
Friday’s executive orders are based on Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion stimulus plan. He said his proposal has the bipartisan support of the “majority of U.S. mayors and governors.” However, the Biden administration must get Congress to approve the plan. Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., said the plan is dead on arrival, but noted that “there are components I like.”
The White House says it is being called this Sunday and there is a phone call with 16 senators to discuss the president’s relief plan. White told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” that if negotiations break down, the Biden administration has two options.
“One, blow up the filibuster, go with 51 votes and give it a shot,” White explained in a Friday evening interview. “Biden doesn’t want to do that. He’s an institutionalist. The other, harder thing, is trying to do the checks and send money to people and divide them into smaller pieces.”