Senate Democrats on Tuesday took the first step to secure the passage of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion rescue package, advancing a budget resolution in a maneuver that could allow them to approve it without any Republican support.
It was a 50-49 party-line vote. Every Democratic senator supported it, and all Republicans were united in their opposition. GOP Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania was absent.
"We're not going to dilute, dither, or delay because the needs of the American people are just too great," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said at a news conference before the vote. "Time is of the essence."
The vote kicks off the budget-reconciliation process in the Senate. It would allow Democrats to pass the Biden plan with only 51 votes instead of the 60-vote supermajority generally required for bills. The resolution sets up a "vote-a-rama" later this week when any senator can propose an amendment. Debating and voting on them can stretch on for many hours.
Biden held a private lunch call with Senate Democrats on Tuesday, a day after he met with a group of Republican senators led by Susan Collins of Maine in the Oval Office to discuss its $618 billion counteroffer.
The proposal would significantly lower spending on the president's relief priorities, reducing stimulus-check amounts and limiting the extension of federal unemployment benefits through June. It has been roundly rejected by Democrats. Schumer said Biden urged Democratic lawmakers to "act boldly and quickly."
"He was very strong in emphasizing the need for a big, bold package," Schumer said. "He said that he told Senate Republicans that the $600 billion that they proposed was way too small."
A person familiar with Biden's remarks told Insider the president emphasized there was greater danger in going too small than going too big to combat the pandemic. Biden urged lawmakers to learn the lessons of the 2009 recession, when Democrats passed an $830 billion stimulus package that many economists now say was insufficient to address the economic wreckage of the financial crisis. Republicans were opposed to more spending at the time.
The person was granted anonymity because the comments were meant to be private. Their identity is known to Insider.
House Democrats also moved forward on Tuesday evening with a procedural vote to start the reconciliation process.
Biden is pressing ahead with his $1.9 trillion emergency spending plan. There are few signs so far that he will modify it in a substantial way to placate Republicans who say it is too large. White House chief of staff Ron Klain said in a tweet on Tuesday the proposal represented a "bipartisan agenda," citing a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll indicating more Americans favor than oppose most of Biden's plans.
The plan includes provisions like a new wave of $1,400 stimulus checks, $400 federal unemployment benefits through September, and funds for vaccine distribution and virus testing. It also sets aside significant money for states and local governments and gradually raises the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized congressional Democrats for choosing "a totally partisan path" to enact additional economic relief. Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, one of the Republicans who met with Biden, said he was discouraged that Schumer was using the reconciliation process.
"It's not a good signal that he's adopting a take-it-or-leave-it approach right after his president delivers an inaugural address based on unity," he told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Republicans used the maneuver twice in 2017 shortly after President Donald Trump was sworn in. They enacted a large corporate tax cut and failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a press conference on Tuesday the administration was committed to passing the entire proposal. She added that while the White House was open to negotiating the income thresholds of the stimulus checks, the president did not intend to shrink them to the $1,000 put forth in the GOP plan.
Schumer indicated he and his office were in close communication with Biden.
"Joe Biden is totally on board with using reconciliation. I've been talking to him every day," he said at the news conference. "Our staffs have been talking multiple times a day."
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a conservative Democrat, also voted to kickstart the reconciliation process after refusing to say whether he would back the resolution. He said in a statement any relief effort must be "targeted" to help "Americans who have been most impacted by this pandemic."
"The president remains hopeful that we can have bipartisan support moving forward," he said. "I will only support proposals that will get us through and end the pain of this pandemic."
Source: Insider
