A group of Republican senators has made a counterproposal for a pandemic relief package, with less funding and reduced direct payments, that the president, Joe Biden, would be open to consider.
One of the fundamental changes is the money from aid checks: It is proposed that
$ 1,000
be awarded
, instead of the 1,400 that Biden proposed, for individuals who earn less than $ 50,000 and families who earn less than 150,000.
From there, the amount of the payment is reduced.
The White House is willing to discuss a reduction in stimulus checks, a senior administration official told CNN,
but not cuts
to unemployment benefits or funds for safe reopening of schools.
The president, Joe Biden, agreed to meet this Monday afternoon with 10 Republican senators who proposed the aid package that, according to them, can win the support of both parties.
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The Republicans'
$ 600 billion
proposal
represents just one-third of the $ 1.9 trillion stimulus plan that the Democrat requested from Congress.
The official said that while the Biden Administration is open to its aid package being less, but not the proposed amount.
However, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was less optimistic that Democrats would accept what the Republicans were saying.
"They should negotiate with us, not make a take-it-or-leave-it offer," Schumer said Sunday in an interview with the Daily News. The senator, as the leader of the chamber, has weight when issues are decided upon. Be treated.
President Joe Biden speaks before signing executive orders to strengthen access to Obamacare, at the White House, Washington DC, the United States, on January 28, 2021. REUTERS / REUTERS
Schumer pointed out a major flaw for him
: The Republican offer lacks the federal aid he has asked for months for state and local governments hit by the pandemic.
Negotiations in the White House for a bipartisan agreement
The invitation to hold a meeting at the White House came hours after lawmakers sent Biden a letter urging him to negotiate rather than try to pass his aid package solely with Democratic votes in Congress, which have a majority in the House. Lower House and Senate.
The goal is for
the aid plan to be approved before March
, when the extra unemployment aid and other aid for the pandemic expire.
The meeting to be organized by Biden will mark the president's largest public participation in the negotiations for the next round of pandemic aid.
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Republican senators invited to meet with Biden are Susan Collins from Maine;
Lisa Murkowski, for Alaska;
Mitt Romney, for Utah;
Bill Cassidy, for Louisiana;
Rob Portman, for Ohio;
Shelley Moore Capito, for West Virginia;
Todd Young, for Indiana;
Jerry Moran, for Kansas;
Mike Rounds, for South Dakota;
and Thom Tillis, for North Carolina.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday that Biden had spoken with the group's leader, Senator Susan Collins.
Although Biden wants
"a full exchange of views,"
Psaki reiterated that the president remains in favor of going ahead with a far-reaching aid package.
"As leading economists have said,
the danger now is not in doing too much: it is in doing too little,
" said Psaki.
"Americans of both parties hope that their leaders will rise to the occasion," he added.
What does the Republican proposal include
The proposal of this group of senators includes
160,000 million dollars for the development and distribution of vaccines,
tests and tracing, treatments and supplies, including the production and mass distribution of personal protective equipment.
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The Republican counterproposal also includes
$ 4 billion to bolster mental health and substance abuse treatment
;
a
new round of direct payments for "families most in need of assistance"
;
and more
federal unemployment benefits.
While Biden's original plan called for sending checks for
$ 1,400
to people with incomes of up to $ 75,000 annually and couples making up to $ 150,000, Sen. Rob Portman noted that the proposal would lower that threshold to
$ 50,000 for individuals and $ 100,000 for couples. .
The
checks would be for $ 1,000
, according to Senator Bill Cassidy.
The need for a bipartisan agreement
"If you can't find a bipartisan compromise on COVID-19 [aid], I don't know where you can find it," Portman said.
For Biden, getting the support of 10 Republicans in the Senate is important, since the Senate is divided 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tiebreaker.
If all Democrats support this bill, it would reach the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster mechanism (
filibuster
, in English)
,
a political procedure used in the Senate to block laws or unwanted nominations by those who constitute the minority. ).
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"Our proposal reflects many of your stated priorities, and with your support, we believe this plan could be approved quickly by Congress with
bipartisan support
," the Republican senators wrote in a joint statement.
Biden also spoke Sunday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who are facing mounting pressure from more liberal Democratic members to push through the legislation of Biden
with or without the support of the Republicans.
"We are going to wait to work with the Republicans. But right now, this country is facing an unprecedented series of crises," Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont told ABC News.
With information from CNN, Daily News, AP and NBC News.
