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President Biden told Senate Democrats at a virtual lunch on Tuesday that the Republicans’ current $ 618 billion coronavirus relief proposal was “too small,” but he wanted to continue working for a compromise and was prepared to bow to the final price, a source said on the call. Axios said.
Why is this important: Biden has made it clear he’s not giving up on finding a bipartisan path to pass stimulus legislation, despite many Democrats urging him to use the budget reconciliation process to bypass the GOP. He also said the White House has red lines it does not want to move on, including minimum wages to receive stimulus checks.
What we hear: The president told the Democratic Senate caucus that there was nothing wrong with spending too much, but it was wrong with spending too little, and applauded the party for continuing to think big.
- He said the Republican Senate offer to hand out checks for $ 1,400 to people earning $ 50,000 a year or less was a non-starter, adding that his administration would accept nothing less than full payment to people earning. $ 75,000 or less per year.
- He then went on to discuss a hypothetical “family of four” whose main breadwinners were a nurse and a pipefitter, and how they can make just $ 150,000 combined, but are still worried about their jobs. “We cannot leave them out,” Biden said.
- He didn’t answer any questions before hanging up.
- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen highlighted Biden’s insistence on making sure not to underestimate the money needed to keep the economy in check, then answered several questions, which led to the meeting. to descend into chaos, the source said on the call.
The president called in the Zoom rather than joining the video call. He told senators that the White House did not have Zoom in the Oval Office and that he should have gone to the Roosevelt Room to film.
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