Bipartisan group of 16 senators say Biden’s $1.9TRILLION Covid stimulus plan ‘gives too much money to rich Americans’
A GROUP of 16 bipartisan senators feel Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid stimulus plan "gives too much money to rich Americans," reports say.
The group of and reportedly took issue with proposal and its inclusion of $1,400 for all eligible Americans on Sunday because some people don't need the money.
reported that these senators reached a "consensus" during a phone call conference, marking the first rift between the president and since Biden was inaugurated last Wednesday.
Senator Angus King, one of two independent senators along with Bernie Sanders, questioned the trillion-dollar price tag, remarking: "This isn’t monopoly money."
However, the senators agreed with the president there was an urgent need to act quickly on distribution.
The former President declined to sign the last relief bill after making 11th-hour requests to Congress, which had already passed the bill.
The senators reportedly spoke with National Economic Council director Brian Deese, Biden’s coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients, and legislative affairs head Louisa Terrell on Sunday afternoon.
The call reportedly lasted for 75 minutes and was set up by Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of.
The senators have asked the Biden administration how they came up with the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan – and if there were any ways to cut costs.
The group told the White House officials they wouldn't mind spending more on vaccine distribution - but they found fault with the stimulus payments and requested the White House make them targeted.
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine pushed this point, asking why those whose income surpassed $300,000 would be eligible under the stimulus payments.
She emphasized that the stimulus relief should be focused on lower-income workers.
"I was the first to raise that issue, but there seemed to be a lot of agreement," Collins said after the call. "Those payments need to be more targeted."
"I would say that it was not clear to me how the administration came up with its $1.9 trillion figure for the package," she said, adding the top number was a "concern" to her and others in the group, which she co-led with Manchin.
"I'm going to suggest that we get together and talk about what we think would be a reasonable package, and one that could garner bipartisan support," she said, emphasizing the high price point.
'EAGER TO MOVE'
The bipartisan group played a large role in passing the $900 billion package in December, which often is pointed to by Republicans as reason why an immediate large package would be difficult to pass.
She did commend the Biden Administration for their rapid pace in bringing forward a plan so quickly, however.
"The administration clearly is very eager to move very quickly," Collins said. And we want to make sure that there is justification, especially since there's so much money remaining from the previous packages."
RECONCILIATION VOTE
King echoed similar thoughts shared by his Republican and Democratic colleagues.
"There’s a fundamental decision here on the part of the administration and that is: do they want to work on the negotiation of a bipartisan proposal or do they want to try to move the larger package through reconciliation," King said.
"That didn’t come up today explicitly but that’s sort of in the background," he added, but did commend White House officials for being receptive to the senators' concerns.
"If they were interested in just jamming this through they wouldn’t have interrupted the Packers game," he joked, saying the stimulus is a top priority shared by both the president and the Senate alike.
TARGETED ASSISTANCE
Also on the call was Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who praised the White House for quickly setting up the call and listening to the senators' concerns.
"That was a general issue that was expressed around a number of things: The more targeted the assistance can be where it's needed most, the more helpful," Shaheen said.
The Biden administration is reportedly pursuing the bill's passage through regular order rather than budget reconciliation.
It isn't clear whether provisions like the $15 minimum wage would get as much support from Democrats and Republicans as would upping vaccine distribution.
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This included a nationwide mask mandate on federal properties and invoking the Defense Production Act to improve vaccine supplies.
"We're in a national emergency. It's time we treat it like one," Biden said. "This is a wartime undertaking."