Coronavirus: Republicans want Joe Biden to downsize US$1.9 trillion pandemic stimulus plan
- Republican senators offer US$600 billion stimulus compromise
- Covid-19 continues to ravage the economy across the country
A top White House economic adviser signalled willingness to discuss the ideas raised by Republican senators who floated a US$600 billion alternative but said the Democratic president was not willing to compromise on the need for a comprehensive bill to address the public health crisis and economic fallout.
“He is open to ideas, wherever they may come. … What he’s uncompromising about is the need to move with speed on a comprehensive approach here,” Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, told NBC’s Meet the Press. “A piecemeal approach … is not a recipe for success.”
It was unclear whether the outreach by 10 of the 50 Republicans in the 100-seat chamber would shift plans by congressional Democrats to take up legislation in the coming days. Biden and fellow Democrats were seeking to make use of their control of the House of Representatives and Senate to move quickly on the president’s top goal of addressing the pandemic.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said his chamber would begin work on it as early as this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress would complete a preliminary step before the end of the week.
Congress enacted US$4 trillion in Covid-19 relief last year.
Passage of the new relief legislation not only would impact Americans and businesses reeling during a pandemic that has killed about 440,000 people in the United States but also offers an early test of Biden’s promise to work to bridge the partisan divide in Washington.
