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The US Democrats in the Senate are ten votes short of being able to adopt President Joe Biden's corona aid package on the fly.
Now ten Republican senators have made a counter-proposal - and Biden have offered their cooperation.
A letter from the senators to Biden published on Sunday stated that they had drafted their plan "in a spirit of impartiality and unity."
This also includes the funds proposed by Biden amounting to 160 billion dollars, which are to be used, among other things, for the development and distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine.
But at the same time, the proposal falls far short of Biden's plan.
This wants to spend around 1.9 trillion US dollars to help the economy out of the corona crisis.
The ten Republicans' proposal is only around $ 600 billion.
In their letter, the ten Republican senators point out that billions of dollars have not yet been spent from previous aid packages.
The ten Republican Senators are considered moderate representatives of their party, including Mitt Romney, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski.
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Mitt Romney and Susan Collins
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The director of the White House Economic Council, Brian Deese, told CNN that the Senators' proposal would be considered.
Deese said Biden is open to ideas wherever they come from.
"Where it will be uncompromising is the need to move forward quickly and comprehensively."
Biden could use ten votes
The White House announced on Sunday that Biden is calling on Congress to pass its "American rescue plan" immediately.
The package he proposed would be equivalent to almost ten percent of US economic output (GDP).
In order to get his plans through, Biden is dependent on Congress.
In the Senate in particular, Biden needs 60 votes, so he is dependent on ten Republicans.
Alternatively, the Democrats could try to pass the stimulus package with a simple majority through a process known as "recociliation".
The Democrats have this even without the Republicans.
more on the subject
Icon: Spiegel PlusIcon: Spiegel Plus pandemic aid package in the USA: Biden's Marshall Plan for the Corona CrisisBy Marc Pitzke, New York
Congress last passed an aid package worth around $ 900 billion at the end of December.
Immediately after the corona pandemic escalated in the United States, Congress had already passed economic stimulus packages worth almost three trillion dollars last spring.
The US economy continues to suffer from the Corona crisis.
The official unemployment rate is 6.7 percent; before the crisis it was 3.5 percent.
Last year, economic output shrank by 3.5 percent - it was the sharpest decline since 1946.
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sep / AP / dpa