Over the weekend a group of ten Republican Senators sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking for a meeting to discuss and negotiate the next Wuhan coronavirus relief package. Late Sunday evening, Biden invited them to the White House, where they will meet Monday afternoon.
“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," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki released in a statement.
“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,” she continued.
The current package introduced by Democrats has a $1.9 trillion price tag. Republicans want a scaled down, $600 billion version.
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