The group of 10 Republican lawmakers has requested a meeting with President Biden to discuss their plan.
WASHINGTON — Ten Republican senators announced plans Sunday to release an approximately $600 billion COVID relief package that could serve as a bipartisan alternative to President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion plan, and requested a meeting with the president to discuss it. The senators, led by Susan Collins, R-Maine, said they would release additional details of the package on Monday. In a letter to Biden they said they were offering their proposal in recognition of the president’s “calls for unity.” “We want to work in good faith with you and your administration to meet the health, economic and societal challenges of the COVID crisis,” they wrote. Their move comes as Democrats prepare to move forward on Monday to set up a partisan path forward for Biden’s relief bill, which Republicans have dismissed as overly costly given some $4 trillion Congress has already committed to fighting the pandemic, including $900 billion in December. The GOP proposal is expected to jettison certain elements that have drawn Republican opposition, such as increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. It would also significantly narrow eligibility for a new round of $1,400 stimulus checks Biden wants to send to individual Americans. Biden’s plan would cap eligibility for the checks at individuals making $75,000 a year and couples making $150,000. A $600 billion plan that is a fraction of the size of Biden’s proposal is unlikely to draw much if any Democratic support. However, the GOP offer presents a test for Biden, who campaigned on being a bipartisan deal-maker and now must decide whether to ignore the GOP overture or make a genuine effort to find common ground across the aisle. Top Biden economic adviser Brian Deese said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the White House had received the Republicans’ letter and would review it.
