President Biden has proposed a $1 trillion and $900 billion Epidemic relief plan, but the major moderate Republican lawmakers on whom Senate Democrats rely are not enthusiastic because of the potential impact on the national treasury, even saying that the $1,400 per person bailout could take months or would not be forthcoming.
Senate Democrats will need to convince ten moderate Republican senators to reverse course in order to pass the Biden bill’s threshold, or use congressional transfers to get around the 60-vote threshold.
NBC News reported that Biden’s bailout bill includes $400 billion in funding for vaccine distribution and school restart, a new wave of $1,400 bailouts, $400 weekly unemployment benefits, and $25 billion in child care or health benefits to strengthen the Affordable Care Act.
Key Republican lawmakers who may support the Democratic bailout bill said they might raise the budget to accelerate the distribution of new vaccines, but were hesitant about the total amount of Biden’s proposal; some called on Biden to revise the plan downward, while others suggested waiting a few months to see if the economic downturn persists.
Susan Collins, one of the moderate Republican senators, said she was “sympathetic” to the vaccine budget increase, but could not see a justification for such a large amount.
“I have trouble understanding why we just passed a $900 billion grant bill (last month) and now we’re passing another bill that’s so high,” Collins said on 21 May. “Maybe in a few months the need will be more apparent and something significant will need to be done, but I don’t see it now.
Another moderate, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, described Biden’s request as “important,” “but the ink on a $900 billion grant bill is not even dry,” and “requires a lot of fair debate and consideration.
Senator Mitt Romney, a moderate Republican who had fallen on the vote, said he was not interested in borrowing another $1 trillion or $500 billion to expand the economic bailout, “My personal view is that it is the new coronavirus that is holding the economy back, not money; I want us to dispense as much vaccine as possible, and once more people are vaccinated, I believe the economy will improve.
Biden’s setback in the Senate shows that if the normal process, Biden needs the votes of ten Republican senators to pass the case; if cross-party support fails to pass, the Democrats have two options: one is to use the adjustment process (reconciliation process) to avoid the budget allocation hurdle, or to amend the budget total to seek bipartisan support.
I think the administration and the caucus want to proceed on a bipartisan basis,” said House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-N.Y.), “We haven’t decided on a reconciliation process yet, but if there’s no other way, we intend to move quickly.
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