President Biden on Friday sought to inject more of a sense of urgency into congressional negotiations over his coronavirus rescue plan, saying there is no time to waste when it comes to boosting the economy and helping Americans rebound from the pandemic-induced recession.
With hundreds of thousands of Americans still filing for unemployment and millions struggling to food on the table, Mr. Biden said the “crisis is accelerating.”
“The cost of inaction is high, and it is growing every day,” Mr. Biden told reporters at The White House. “We have to act now. There is no time for any delay.”
“The choice couldn’t be clearer. We have learned from past crises the risk is not doing too much, the risk is not doing enough,” he said.
Mr. Biden delivered the remarks before he and Vice President Kamala Harris met with newly minted Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other members of his economic team.
“Economics agree if there is not more help many more people will lose their small business, the roofs over their heads, and the ability to feed their families,” Mrs. Yellen said, reading a statement. “We need to help those people before the virus is under control.”
“The price of doing nothing is much higher than the price of doing something — and doing something big,” she said.
Mr. Biden and Democrats on Capitol Hill say Congress doesn’t have time to fiddle around and must go big when it comes to addressing the high unemployment and an economy ravaged by the coronavirus.
The federal government announced Thursday the U.S. economy shrank last year by the largest amount in 74 years after the gross domestic product increased at a 4% pace in the fourth quarter.
The federal government said Thursday the United States economy contracted 3.5% in 2020.
Over a million people filed for unemployment last week.
Economic forecasts for the beginning of 2021 have been grim, increasing pressure on the Biden administration to get lawmakers on Capitol Hill to get moving.
The White House this week touted a letter signed by more than 120 economists from across the country calling on Congress to pass a relief package that invests more than the last efforts in unemployment insurance and bigger stimulus checks as well aid to state and local governments.
“Unfortunately, the steps taken by the previous administration and Congress were not enough to help families and businesses weather the storm, nor for our nation’s economy to fully recover,” the letter said.
Mr. Biden is pushing a $1.9 trillion relief package that includes $400 billion to expand coronavirus vaccinations and reopen schools, $350 billion in aid to state and local governments, and $1,400 stimulus checks. It also includes establishing a $15 federal minimum wage.
The debate over the relief package is testing Mr. Biden’s insistence that his experience in Washington has equipped him with the skills needed to work across party lines to get things done.
Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill, meanwhile, are laying the groundwork to forge ahead if Republicans refuse to get on board.
They are moving to pass the plan through a process known as “reconciliation,” which allows the majority to circumvent the 60-vote filibuster in the Senate.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki at the daily briefing Friday highlighted the findings of a recent Monmouth University Poll that showed 71% of Americans would prefer Republicans in Congress find ways to work with Mr. Biden.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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