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'We need to act fast': Biden, Democrats move to speed up process to pass Covid relief package
The push to pass a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package through Congress escalated Wednesday as President Joe Biden made clear to Democrats that the need for aid is urgent.
Politics
WASHINGTON — The push to pass a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package through Congress escalated Wednesday as President Joe Biden made clear to Democrats that the need for aid is urgent and lawmakers prepared to use a special budget process to allow the Senate to advance the measure with only a simple majority vote.
The steps taken by Biden and congressional Democrats indicate that they’re not going to wait around to negotiate with Republicans who want a smaller package.
“We need to act — we need to act fast,” Biden said on a morning conference call with House Democrats, emphasizing that Americans are suffering because of the pandemic, according to a source on the call.
The president said he’s "not going to start my administration by breaking a promise to the American people" on $1,400 checks, the source said.
“This package gets money into the pockets," Biden said, according to the source. "We can't walk away from additional $1,400 in direct checks we proposed because people need, and frankly, they've been promised it. Maybe we can — I think we can better target that number. I'm OK with that."
Biden signaled that he’s open to negotiating an overall price tag, telling Democrats he's "not married to a particular absolute number," and is open to "compromises on several of the programs" in his $1.9 trillion package.
"A lot of folks are going hungry, out of work, and they're reaching a breaking point," he said. "And there's an overwhelming increase in the number of people who are committing suicide, women being abused in their homes, drug addiction and drug problems are up."
In an effort to pass the measure through the Senate, where Democrats hold a razor-thin margin, lawmakers are moving forward with the budget reconciliation process. That would not be subject to a filibuster, allowing the final bill to pass with a simple majority as long as its provisions are limited to spending and taxes.
That means that if all Democrats are on board, they could pass a final bill without any Republican support, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote.
Biden also huddled with top Senate Democrats at the White House for 90 minutes Wednesday to discuss the process being used to write the legislation. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., attended the meeting along with committee in charge of drafting the package. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a moderate who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee, was not invited because his panel is not involved in the reconciliation process, his spokesman told NBC News. Manchin has sought to advance legislation more tightly focused on relief measures.