Biden invites US Sen. Young, 9 other GOP lawmakers to White House to discuss COVID-19 relief
Video with this story is from Sunday’s “All INdiana Politics,” where U.S. Sen. Todd Young spoke with News 8’s Brooke Martin.
(CNN) — President Joe Biden has invited Sen. Todd Young and nine other Republican senators to come to the White House early this week to discuss COVID-19 relief.
The invitation comes after the 10 senators penned a letter to Biden that announced plans to unveil a roughly $600 billion COVID-19 relief package, a counter proposal to Biden’s $1.9 trillion plan meant to force relief talks with the White House back to the middle.
A statement with the invitation came from Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Sunday night:
“The President spoke to Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer today; he is grateful that Congress is prepared to begin action on the American Rescue Plan in just his second full week in office.
“As has been widely reported, the President received a letter today from 10 Republican Senators asking to meet with him to discuss their ideas about the actions needed to address these crises. In response, the President spoke to Senator Collins, and invited her and other signers of the letter to come to the White House early this week for a full exchange of views.
“With the virus posing a grave threat to the country, and economic conditions grim for so many, the need for action is urgent, and the scale of what must be done is large. The American Rescue Plan – including $1400 relief checks, a substantial investment in fighting COVID and reopening schools, aid to small businesses and hurting families, and funds to keep first responders on the job (and more) – is badly needed. As leading economists have said, the danger now is not in doing too much: it is in doing too little. Americans of both parties are looking to their leaders to meet the moment.
The lawmakers, including Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah and Rob Portman of Ohio, told Biden in a letter that they devised the plan “in the spirit of bipartisanship and unity” that the president has urged and said they plan to release a full proposal Monday.
The Republican proposal represents the most significant response yet to the White House’s planned package, though with a price tag more than a trillion dollars less than the Democratic plan, the GOP proposal will likely face opposition from congressional Democrats. The White House, however, signaled Sunday an openness to compromising on some parts of Biden’s plan.
- U.S. Sen. Todd Young of Indiana is among 10 Republican senators who have asked President Biden to discuss an alternate COVID-19 relief plan. He was a guest on Sunday’s “All Indiana.” The text of the letter is at the end of this story.
The counterproposal includes a total of $160 billion for vaccine development and distribution, testing and tracing, and treatment and supplies, including the production and deployment of personal protective equipment.
It would also include a new round of direct payments for “families who need assistance the most,” extend enhanced federal unemployment benefits at the current level and provide $4 billion to bolster behavioral health and substance abuse.
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of the Republicans who signed on to the letter, told Fox News on Sunday that the GOP plan includes payments starting at $1,000 — an amount lower than the $1,400 Biden’s plan provides for — that would decrease depending an individual’s income level.
An aide close to the process told CNN the plan is expected to be between $500-$600 billion, though lawmakers are still waiting to hear from the Congressional Budget Office on the estimated cost.
Portman, appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, wouldn’t specify how much the group’s package would cost, but said it will be “less than $1.9 trillion,” the cost of Biden’s plan.
“You know, our proposal is an example — it’s going to have all of the health care funding that President Biden has in his proposal, all of it. So there’s a lot of bipartisanship,” he said, adding separately that “if you can’t find bipartisanship on Covid-19, I don’t know where you can find it.”
Republicans devise their own plan
In recent days, it had become apparent to Republicans that the narrative taking hold suggested the Democrats had a plan for Covid relief and Republicans could either stand in the way or agree to it. They didn’t feel like there was a negotiating place for them to start and the frustration among Republicans was palpable.
As the week dragged on, one idea being floated was that they needed their own alternative to present to the White House. And most importantly, they needed 10 Republicans to be on board. One of the issues with the “Sweet 16” group is that they’ve only had 8 Republicans, which never was going to be enough to pass any bill. They needed 10 to show there were enough willing partners to give Democrats the 60 votes needed.
The letter’s other signatories include Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Todd Young of Indiana, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
One GOP aide familiar with the talks told CNN that the group worked all day Thursday and Friday, and by Saturday, they had broad agreement, but the details took time to figure out.
Any bipartisan plan will likely lose votes on the Democratic side, meaning for every progressive senator against the proposal, they’d need another Republican supporting it. Still, this idea of putting two plans side by side is one that aides and members have been discussing for several days as a way to force the conversation back to a bipartisan place.
A test of bipartisanship
The proposal will stand as an early test of Biden’s stated commitment to reaching across the aisle during his time as president. In his inaugural address earlier this month, the President called for bipartisanship and unity, something the Republican senators referenced in the opening of their letter, writing: “Heeding that important call, we welcome the opportunity to work with you in a bipartisan manner.”
The senators also requested a meeting with the President “to discuss our proposal in greater detail and how we can work together to meet the needs of the American people during this persistent pandemic,” adding that they “want to work in good faith.”
Brian Deese, the director of the White House’s National Economic Council, confirmed on “State of the Union” on Sunday that the White House had received the letter and said they would be “reviewing it over the course of the day.”
“We’ve received the letter and we certainly will be reviewing it over the course of the day,” Deese said. “What I will say is that the provisions of the President’s plan, the American Rescue plan, were calibrated to the economic crisis that we face.”
The President, he added, is “uncompromising when it comes to the speed we need to act at to address this crisis.”
The proposal comes as Biden has suggested he’s open to passing major portions of his $1.9 trillion Covid relief proposal through a procedural tactic known as reconciliation if Republicans refuse to move on the measure. The maneuver — being pushed in part by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the incoming chairman of the Senate Budget Committee — would mean the package would just need a simple Senate majority of 51 votes, rather than 60.
Portman told Bash the prospect of Democrats using reconciliation “is not in the interests of the Democratic Party,” arguing that “it will set President Biden down a path of partisanship that I think will poison the well for other bipartisanship we’ll need on so many issues.”
Biden’s proposed package expands on many of the proposals in Congress’ $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill from March and the $900 billion legislation from December, which was scaled back to garner bipartisan support in the Senate.
Democratic Sen. Jon Tester defended the cost of the Democratic plan Sunday, saying that although it’s a large amount, it is not too much, because the economic crisis caused by the pandemic is not improving.
“So, I don’t think $1.9 trillion, even though it is a boatload of money, is too much money,” Tester, who represents Montana, told CNN’s Abby Phillip on “Inside Politics.”
While Biden has said he is willing to consider less than $1.9 trillion in relief, White House officials made clear they are not interested in splitting up the legislation by getting a bipartisan vote on some aspects and then passing a separate package along party lines using reconciliation.
Asked Sunday if the White House was open to negotiating parts of Biden’s proposal, Deese told CNN they were “certainly open to ideas.”
“We welcome input to say where we may have not gotten everything right, where we could be more effective, certainly that’s part of the process as we go forward,” he said. “But what we really need to focus on now is what do we need to get this economy back on track and what are the resources necessary to do so.”
Cedric Richmond, the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, also signaled that Biden is open to some type of compromise on a package, telling CBS on Sunday that the President wants “to work with both sides in order to help the American people.”
“He is very willing to meet with anyone to advance the agenda,” Richmond said.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
Letter from 10 Republican senators to President Biden
“Dear Mr. President:
“As you proclaimed in your Inaugural Address, overcoming the challenges facing our nation ‘requires the most elusive of things in a democracy: Unity.’ Heeding that important call, we welcome the opportunity to work with you in a bipartisan manner to combat the COVID-19 virus and provide continued support to families struggling during the pandemic.
“In the spirit of bipartisanship and unity, we have developed a COVID-19 relief framework that builds on prior COVID assistance laws, all of which passed with bipartisan support. Our proposal reflects many of your stated priorities, and with your support, we believe that this plan could be approved quickly by Congress with bipartisan support. We request the opportunity to meet with you to discuss our proposal in greater detail and how we can work together to meet the needs of the American people during this persistent pandemic.
“Addressing this public health crisis has required robust and rapid support for vaccine development and distribution, testing and tracing, treatment and supplies, including the production and deployment of personal protective equipment. We agree with you that continuing to build our capacity in these areas is crucial to overcoming the pandemic. Like your plan, our proposal includes a total of $160 billion to enhance our capabilities in these areas as well as to support our health care providers, who are on the front lines of the pandemic. Our plan mirrors your request for $4 billion to bolster our behavioral health and substance abuse services.
“Our proposal also includes economic relief for those Americans with the greatest need, providing more targeted assistance than in the Administration’s plan. We propose an additional round of economic impact payments for those families who need assistance the most, including their dependent children and adults. Our plan also includes extending enhanced federal unemployment benefits at the current level and fully funding your request for nutrition assistance to help struggling families.
“We share your goal of providing additional assistance for our small businesses. Included in our plan are additional resources to help our small businesses and their employees through the successful Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program.
“Getting our children back to school and making sure that schools are able to stay open safely are priorities that we strongly support. Our plan includes resources for these purposes as well as for child care, which is a critical component to getting Americans back to work.
“Finally, we note that billions of dollars remain unspent from the previous COVID relief packages. Just last month, Congress provided $900 billion in additional resources, and communities are only now receiving much of that assistance. Some of the spending appropriated through the CARES Act, passed last March, also has yet to be exhausted. The proposal we have outlined is mindful of these past efforts, while also acknowledging the priorities that need additional support right now.
“In 2020, Members of the House and Senate and the previous Administration came together on a bipartisan basis five times to direct the resources of the federal government toward combatting the urgent COVID-19 pandemic. Each of these laws received the support of members from both political parties. With your support, we believe Congress can once again craft a relief package that will provide meaningful, effective assistance to the American people and set us on a path to recovery.
“We recognize your calls for unity and want to work in good faith with your Administration to meet the health, economic, and societal challenges of the COVID crisis.
“Thank you for your consideration of this request.”
Letter to President Joe Biden from U.S. senators Shelley Moore Capito, Dr. Bill Cassidy, Susan M. Collins, Jenny Moran, Lisa Murkowski, Rob Portman, Mitt Romney, M. Michael Rounds, Thom Tillis and Todd Young