Republican senators send President Biden letter urging bipartisan COVID relief deal
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The group includes Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La.; Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine; Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.; Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah; Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Sen. Michael Rounds, R-S.D.; and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind.
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“I would say that it was not clear to me how the administration came up with its $1.9 trillion figure for the package,” Collins said last Sunday.
“The administration clearly is very eager to move very quickly. And we want to make sure that there is justification, especially since there’s so much money remaining from the previous packages,” she argued.
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“We want to help everyone that needs help. But if a person’s making $250K or $300K, I don’t think they’re in much as need as a person making $40K or 50K. That’s all I said. We’re going to target,” Manchin said on Saturday.
Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Biden himself have expressed interest in a bipartisan package but have also repeatedly said they would not pursue Republican votes at the expense of an effective package.
“Our preference is to make this important work bipartisan, to include input, ideas and revisions from our Republican colleagues,” Schumer said Friday. “But if our Republican colleagues decide to oppose this urgent and necessary legislation, we will have to move forward without them.”
The Republican senators, citing Biden’s calls for unity, argued their proposal would be an opportunity to work in a bipartisan manner.
“We recognize your calls for unity and want to work in good faith with your Administration to meet the health, economic, and societal challenges of the COVID crisis,” the letter concludes.