Biden and Top Economic Officials Stress Urgency of More Pandemic Aid

Mr. Biden, who has spent the first days of his presidency calling for more economic help, said the pandemic legislation was his top priority. “People are going to be badly, badly hurt if we don’t pass this package,” he said.

Even as states have begun to vaccinate vulnerable populations, the economic recovery from the pandemic is showing signs of slowing, fueling concerns among White House officials that time is running short to pass a robust package before some emergency benefits expire in March. Those officials are increasingly saying that Congress must move swiftly to approve a package of a scope similar to what Mr. Biden is proposing, though they acknowledge privately that the process of congressional negotiations could produce a bill with a lower price tag than the president has called for.

To help win support, particularly among Republicans, those aides are making the case that Mr. Biden’s proposal polls strongly across party lines.

“A fair question you might ask our G.O.P. or Republican colleagues is why they oppose proposals that have the support of 74 percent of the American public,” the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, told reporters on Friday. She cited a recent Monmouth University poll in which 71 percent of respondents said it was important for Republicans to find ways to work with Mr. Biden.

Democrats in Congress say they are continuing to work with Republicans on a potentially bipartisan bill, but they are also preparing a parliamentary maneuver known as budget reconciliation that would allow them to pass a bill with a simple majority, as Republicans did with their 2017 tax cut law and their failed attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/29/business/biden-coronavirus-stimulus-aid.html