Turned off by Biden's approach, GOP opposition to stimulus relief intensifies
Category: News & Politics
Via: john-russell • 3 years ago • 31 commentsBy: Erica Werner, Seung Min Kim, Jeff Stein (MSN)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
President Biden's pitch for bipartisan unity to defeat the coronavirus and resurrect the economy is crashing into a partisan buzz saw on Capitol Hill, where Republicans and Democrats can't agree on ground rules for running the Senate — let alone pass a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill.
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Biden's relief package is being declared dead on arrival by senior Senate Republicans, some of whom say there has been little, if any, outreach from the Biden team to get their support. Liberals are demanding the president abandon attempts to make a bipartisan deal altogether and instead ram the massive legislation through without GOP votes. And outside groups are turning up the pressure for Biden and the Democrats who control Congress to enact economic relief quickly, even if it means cutting Republicans out of the deal.
In the face of these competing pressures, Biden may discover he can get a big covid-19 stimulus bill or a bipartisan deal — but not both. The path Biden chooses with his first major piece of legislation could set the tone for the remainder of his first term in office, revealing whether he can make good on his promise to unify Congress and the country.
"It's important that Democrats deliver for America. If the best path to that is to do it in a way that can bring Republicans along, I'm all in favor of that," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said. "But if Republicans want to cut back to the point that we're not delivering what needs to be done, then we need to be prepared to fight them. Our job is to deliver for the American people."
President Biden speaks as Vice President Harris and Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, listen at an event on his administration's covid-19 response at the White House on Friday. (Al Drago/Pool/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
Publicly, top aides insist Biden is serious about wanting a bipartisan deal on the relief bill. They say this should be achievable given the magnitude of the economic and health-care crisis besetting the nation a year after the pandemic began, with more than 412,000 dead and the economy newly shedding jobs. Some Democrats have expressed optimism that GOP frustration with how the Trump administration ended could convince some Republicans to be more open to a fresh start with a Democratic president, especially since longtime lawmakers know Biden from his decades in the Senate and as vice president.
But when Biden's relief plan rang in at nearly $2 trillion this month, and included liberal priorities like an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, some Republicans saw it as a sign that Biden wasn't really serious about getting their support. Even those Republicans who have suggested they're open to making a deal have made clear that the package would need to undergo significant changes.
"I suspect the whole package is a nonstarter, but it's got plenty of starters in it. And a lot of them are things that we proposed in terms of more assistance to the states," said Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), referring to money for vaccine distribution and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "There's some things in there that aren't going to happen. There's some things that can happen. And that's how this process should work."
Outreach to GOP lawmakers before and after the plan's release appears to have occurred only at the staff level so far and has been confined to a limited number of senators, including members of a bipartisan group who helped break a stalemate over coronavirus relief legislation late last year.
On Sunday, Biden economic adviser Brian Deese is scheduled to directly brief the senators in that group on a Zoom call. But as of Friday, Senate GOP leadership had not been formally briefed, and multiple GOP lawmakers who are part of the bipartisan talks said they had heard nothing from the White House, even though Biden pitched himself on the campaign trail as a bipartisan dealmaker.
"I have not personally [heard from the White House], and I'm disappointed in that, not about me but about, you know, it's one thing to talk about outreach, another thing to do it," said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), a senior lawmaker who is a member of the bipartisan group that will confer Sunday with Deese.
"It's much more successful around here if you try to get the bipartisanship at the start so that it's a foundation of trust," Portman added.
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Instead, Biden unveiled his $1.9 trillion plan without any bipartisan buy-in, leaving Republicans to question the need for such a big new package coming on the heels of the $900 billion Congress approved in December for economic relief, vaccines and more. Including that legislation, Congress has already devoted about $4 trillion to fighting the pandemic and the economic devastation it wrought.
"I look forward to hearing their views. My own thought is that we should only be spending money where there is need that needs to be met, and so I'd like to see the figures and calculations behind their proposal," Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), another member of the bipartisan group, said. "I think there's a recognition on both sides of the aisle that where there's need, we in Congress have a responsibility to help meet that. But we don't want to be borrowing money that's not absolutely necessary."
Questioned about how a nearly $2 trillion package filled with proposals that are anathema to Republicans could be described as a bipartisan overture, White House press secretary Jen Psaki insisted it was.
"Is unemployment insurance only an issue that Democrats in the country want? Do only Democrats want their kids to go back to schools? Do only Democrats want vaccines to be distributed across the country?" Psaki said at a White House press briefing. "He feels that package is designed for bipartisan support."
She said Biden would be getting personally engaged in finding support for his plan. "He's very eager to be closely involved, roll up the sleeves … and make the calls himself," she said.
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Psaki said that in trying to sell the package to Republicans, the White House approach would be to ask them which priorities they would cut. The wide-ranging proposal includes a new round of $1,400 stimulus checks to individuals, an extension and increase in emergency unemployment benefits that would otherwise expire in mid-March, and an enhanced child tax credit, as well as hundreds of billions of dollars to help schools reopen and increase testing and vaccine production and delivery.
Some Republicans are open to a number of these provisions but view others — such as the minimum wage increase — as unrelated to the coronavirus and designed to appease an antsy liberal base more than garner bipartisan backing.
"Biden's opening order was such an overreach that instead of opening negotiations, it just scared Republicans away," said Brian Riedl, policy expert at the libertarian-leaning Manhattan Institute and a former GOP Senate aide. Riedl said Republicans may be open to a deal somewhere between $500 billion and $1 trillion but that Biden's opening bid made that less likely. "The opening offer can be so extreme it can poison the well and push the other side away."
While insisting that Biden's preference is for a bipartisan deal, Psaki has repeatedly declined to rule out moving forward under special Senate rules that allow legislation to pass with a simple majority vote instead of the 60 votes normally required. That was how President Barack Obama enacted the Affordable Care Act and how Republicans passed their massive tax cut early in President Donald Trump's first term. The procedure could allow Biden to pass his coronavirus relief package with only Democratic votes.
But the path forward under this so-called "budget reconciliation" process could be tricky. The Senate is split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, giving Democrats control only because Vice President Harris can cast tie-breaking votes. That means any individual Democratic senator could hold the legislation up with an array of demands.
Also, Senate leaders thus far haven't even been able to agree on a deal on how to operate the Senate with a 50-50 split, and they're also still arguing over the timing and process for Trump's impeachment trial. Both issues are emerging as impediments to Biden getting his Cabinet confirmed and also probably need to get resolved before the Senate could take up a relief bill.
Democrats in Congress and within the White House are split on how much time to devote to trying to strike a bipartisan deal before turning to budget reconciliation and leaving Republicans behind. Biden was vice president when Obama devoted many weeks to futile negotiations with Republicans over the Affordable Care Act, before finally passing the legislation without a single GOP vote. Biden was also involved in negotiations over the $787 billion stimulus bill Obama signed in February 2009 in the throes of the financial crisis. Many Democrats wanted a larger package at the time, but Republicans balked; subsequently, many economists have concluded that a larger stimulus bill would have helped the nation climb out of the Great Recession more quickly.
With that history in mind, budget reconciliation has emerged as the clear preference for many liberal Democrats, especially in the House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) suggested in a conversation with donors Thursday evening that she was open to advancing Biden's proposal via the reconciliation process in coming weeks, according to a person familiar with her remarks. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to confirm the private comments, which were first reported by Punchbowl News.
House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) said he wasn't aware of a final decision on how to proceed but that Democrats were wary of spending too much time negotiating with Republicans at a moment of urgency.
"To haggle over every little provision of Biden's plan (with Republicans) might not be able to be done on a timely basis," Yarmuth said.
Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), chair of the New Democrat Coalition, noted that last year Republicans refused for months to pass any additional relief, after a spate of legislation in the spring, before finally agreeing to another bill in December.
"We can't let that happen again," DelBene said. "People need certainty and visibility going forward, and that's why this package is so important."
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Everyone is distressed that so many restaurants and small businesses have closed. The federal government should have been providing sustenance funding to these businesses all along. If it costs 5 trillion dollars it costs 5 trillion dollars. We put almost a trillion dollars a year into the military-industrial (defense business) complex.
The Democrats need to drop this "power sharing" deal in the Senate, unless the Republicans are going to co-operate and support necessary programs. The GOP leadership declares the covid-relief bill is "dead on arrival". How is it dead on arrival when the Democrats control the Senate and could pass the bill as a "reconciliation" legislation without any Republican votes at all? Biden wants it to be bi-partisan, but in the end it doesn't have to be bi-partisan.
Do individual Republicans really want it on their record that they voted not to give a 1400 dollar stimulus check to their constituents ? Before, McConnell could keep the issue from going to a vote in the Senate, so senators were protected from having to reveal their position on the issue. Now the Democrats can force a vote, and they damn well better.
Pelosi had multiple chances to make a deal.
Your side has control now...time to get busy with responsible governing
Don't need no stinkin' GOP support
Fuckin right. Abolish the filibuster and start passing your legislation, then defend it. Let the voters decide at the polls if they want to keep it or get rid of it. Fuck the GOP and their feelings.
Where were they between 11/09/20 and 01/20/21 ?
Blocking the transition with the Administration? Afraid to rock the boat in case the sediton succeed in overturning a valid election?
Butt, Butt, Pelosi doesn't quite cut it Greg.
Yeah, get the fuck out of our way!!!!!!!!!
I hope, but doubt, that the Democrats understand the GOP is not negotiating in good faith. They are just trying to stall and delay as much as they can until 2022. Fuck'em, give them one week to actually participate and if they choose not to then go on without them. The voters gave the Democrats both chambers and the presidency because they like their ideas more than those of the GOP (I don't even think the GOP knows what their ideas are anymore), time to goddamn deliver.
Yep. They are going to pull the same shit they pulled on Obama.
Fuck them they are not going to change.
Biden can try to cross the isle all he wants, like Obama tried to do, only have have his hand bitten.
[deleted]
Damn right, if the Dems want tot lose my vote they will do it by being pussies and pretending the GOP has something to offer. If they do that I will fuckin sit out the next election cycle.
At this particular moment in time, I have my doubts the president will do either.
Probably right. Sadly.
Lol please, they were never going to seriously engage to begin with. It is just gonna be more of the same ol bullshit they pulled the last time Biden was around the White House. I say fuck it, get rid of the filibuster and fulfill your promises to the majority that put you in the White House and gave you control of both chambers.
Fuck China Joe and the Democrats. They didn't want to give Trump "a win" by passing the stimulus that was needed at the time. They loaded it with as many poison pills as they could; and are now doing it again.
Compromise is not capitulation. Only a complete and utter moron like Biden would even think about increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour during a recession. Look at how well that tactic worked for Seattle with no recession going (very mixed bag at best). Companies will make due with less workers and more automation; meaning that when the economy does recover that many will not be able to find jobs again.
Force the Democrats to pass this POS legislation with no support; and when the economy fails further remind the public repeatedly that Democrats alone are to blame.
Fuck the Trump hangers on and those blinded with partisan rage.
Partisan BS. At one point they had a Sweat heart deal and it was trump who changed his mind disappointing both parties.
Thank goodness we can agree again.
Then you ruined it with more partisan BS and amateur economics opinions.
Wow, didn't see that partisan conjecture coming.
Fuck treasonous Trump and the GOp. You fucking lost, [Deleted]
Glad to see you are finally admitting the economy failed under Trump. Problem is that you are expecting the economy to somehow recover using the same Trump policies that caused it to fail.
Throughout modern history of the US, it has been the Democrat's job to repair economies destroyed by Republican administrations.
Yup, we always have to clean up their messes. Look at the stinky, fetid, rank, deplorable, atrocious, abominable mess the former 'president' left behind.
And yet, Republican voters feel Republicans do a better job with the economy. Go figure.
I think they need to make the case that what they want to spend money on is actually needed.
Not needed. Do a minimum wage bill on its own merits.
Not needed. Not even useful. There appears to be no income level tied to this, so even rich people with kids will get it. And if you don't make enough to pay taxes in the first place or income is low so you don't pay as much, then it does little or nothing for you. This was a criticism when Trump increased the same credit, and the criticism is still valid.
If they want to put money in the pockets of people who need it, they should just do that. Keep it simple.
That's an odd claim. Setting aside the impacts of Covid, Black unemployment has never looked as good as it did when Trump was president.
More details of the proposal from the New York Times : Some actually seem reasonable.
Make the case, but I doubt this is necessary.
That actually sounds useful.
I am dubious. Governments are really good at wasting money.
Obviously necessary, but you have to sell the amount and everything under the umbrella.
Sounds useful but needs to be tailored so big, flush corporations aren't taking advantage over small businesses that don't have their wiggle room on expenses.
I think it's important to keep this as streamlined as possible, focusing on issues most people in both parties can agree on. It needs to be bipartisan because even a Democrat can hold this up by demanding some item that is dear to their personal agenda. The minimum wage thing is an example of that.
Did the Democrats ever remove the gender assignment studies in Pakistan rider they tried to piggyback onto the last stimulus package? Probably not.
I hate that crap. They put in unnecessary, unrelated garbage, and if you object, then it means you want the American people to suffer.
Yep. I believe that unnecessary crap and others the Democrats tacked on also helped lower the Covid-19 stimulus amount to the ridiculous slap in the face amount the American public actually recieved! That instead of just a stand alone relief bill. Disgusting subterfuge by Pelosi and her ilk!
Obviously, the Biden team has no interest in passing a bipartisan bill. The bill consists of the far left's wants from Pelosi's last proposal and demands totally unrelated to Covid. If they wanted a bill passed, they could work with the Susan Collins of the world and ask for their input. But they didn't because they don't want a bill to pass. The Democrats are a party that functions on outrage and pushing a far left bill will accomplish the goal of getting Republican opposition that drives the base's outrage.
A stalemate is the goal.
Neither did the GOP.
Good.
Lol, they did that last time and got a net zero votes. Fuck Susan Collins with a rake.
I want them to pass their bills IN SPITE of you, the more you whine, the more I want it to pass.
Not if the Dems find the balls to actually govern.
Probably the stupidest that has happened in the past year is people , usually Republicans, saying we can't spend such and such a sum on covid relief because we have to keep spending down to keep the national debt as low as possible.
The national debt is irrelevant when the objective is or should be to provide small businesses with funding to make up for the fact that they have lost much if not all of their business due to covid. The Republicans have wanted to force the states to take care of this issue of businesses closing due to pandemic restrictions. But the states cannot afford to take on that kind of debt. Only the federal government can take on the debt that would come from giving money to every small business in America. And giving individuals money ($2000) to spend to keep businesses going.
States can't do it. The federal government has to do it. To hell with the "national debt" during this economic emergency.
LOL, now the republicans are worried about the debt but the last 4 years with Trump it was fine.
Fucking hypocrites.
They are going to stall or perhaps even defeat this covid relief bill in the Senate because some Senators (almost all Republican) say the 1.9 trillion price tag is too much. Let's say they reduce it by a third, making it 1.3 trillion instead. That is a "savings " of 600 billion.
The current US national debt is just short of 28 trillion. Thus the saved 600 billion would represent .02 of the new national debt.
In a time of crisis the outcome cannot be dictated by an attempt to save money. Especially a sum that is in the big picture insignificant.
Now the republicans are complaining about the deficit!
The President can go through, I think it's called a budget reconciliation, to get these through with a majority and VP Harris to break any tie.
That won't work for everything but he can and should do this in order to put the Co-Vid relief bill through.
McConnell was a damn fool to oppose $2,000 stimulus and it was a major factor in loosing majority in the Senate
Absolutely true. And now he is making the same mistake. All the Dems have to do is say "Mitch and Republicans don't think you are hurting and need help, unless you are a Wall St. millionaire."
The Republicans have a poor to non existent record of helping working people and even the middle class economically.
The modern day GOP is all about "culture wars". They think they keep the base with them by bringing up social issues like "religious freedom" and the "cancel culture" and "Black Lives Matter" and "socialism".