Biden flexible on who gets aid, tells lawmakers to ‘go big’

President Joe Biden told Democratic lawmakers Wednesday he is "not married" to an absolute number on his USD 1.9 trillion COVID rescue plan but Congress needs to "act fast" on relief for the pandemic and the economic crisis.

Biden also said he does not want to budge from his proposed USD 1,400 in direct payments promised to Americans. But he said he is willing to "target" the aid, which would mean lowering the income threshold to qualify for the money.

"Look, we got a lot of people hurting in our country today," Biden said. "We need to act. We need to act fast." Biden said, "I am not going to start my administration by breaking a promise to the American people."

He spoke with House Democrats and followed with a meeting at the White House with top Senate Democrats, deepening his public engagements with lawmakers on pandemic aid and an economic recovery package. Together they are his first legislative priority and a test of the administration's ability to work with Congress to deliver.

Biden's remarks to the Democratic House caucus were relayed by two people who requested anonymity to discuss the private conference call.

While Biden is trying to build bipartisan support from Republicans, he is also prepared to rely on the Democratic majority in Congress to push his top agenda item into law. Objecting to the president's package as excessive, Republicans proposed a USD 618 billion alternative with slimmer USD 1,000 direct payments and zero aid for states and cities. But Biden panned the GOP package as insufficient even as he continues private talks with Republicans on potential areas of compromise.

In his meeting with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and 10 top Senate Democrats in the Oval Office, the president expressed confidence that the relief package would still win over GOP votes and be bipartisan.

"I think we will get some Republicans," he said at the start of the meeting.

With a rising virus death toll and strained economy, the goal is to have COVID-19 relief approved by March, when extra unemployment assistance and other pandemic aid measures expire. Money for vaccine distributions, direct payments to households, school reopenings and business aid are at stake.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the president fully recognises the final package may look different than the one he initially proposed.

She said further targeting the USD 1,400 payments "means not the size of the check, it means the income level of the people who receive the check". That is under discussion, she said.

As lawmakers in Congress begin drafting the details of the package, Biden is taking care to shore up his allies while also ensuring that the final product fulfils his promise for bold relief to a battered nation.

House Democrats were told on the call with the president that they could be flexible on some numbers and programmes, but should not back down on the size or scope of the aid.

"We have to go big, not small," Biden told the Democrats. "I have got your back and you have got mine."

As the White House reaches for a bipartisan bill, House and Senate Democrats have launched a lengthy budget process for approving Biden's bill with or without Republican support. Voting started Tuesday in the Senate and was set for Wednesday and Thursday in the House.

"We want to do it bipartisan, but we must be strong," Schumer said after the 90-minute session at the White House. Democrats are "working with our Republican friends, when we can."

The swift action follows Tuesday's outreach as Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen joined the Democratic senators for a private virtual meeting, both declaring the Republicans' USD 618 billion offer was too small.

Both Biden and Yellen recalled the lessons of the government response to the 2009 financial crisis, which some have since said was inadequate as conditions worsened.

Schumer said of the Republican proposal: "If we did a package that small, we would be mired in the COVID crisis for years."

Earlier in the week, Biden met with 10 Republican senators who were pitching their USD 618 billion alternative, and told them he will not delay aid in hopes of winning GOP support even as talks continue.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell criticised the Democrats for pressing ahead largely on their own as the GOP senators try to provide bipartisan alternatives.

"They have chosen a totally partisan path," McConnell said. "That is unfortunate."

The two sides are far apart. The cornerstone of the GOP plan is USD 160 billion for the healthcare response -- vaccine distribution, a "massive expansion" of testing, protective gear and money for rural hospitals, similar to what Biden has proposed for aid specific to the pandemic.

But from there, the two plans drastically diverge. Biden proposes USD 170 billion for schools, compared with USD 20 billion in the Republican plan. Republicans also would give nothing to states, money that Democrats argue is just as important, with USD 350 billion in Biden's plan to keep police, fire and other workers on the job.

The GOP's USD 1,000 direct payments would go to fewer people -- those earning up to USD 40,000 a year, or USD 80,000 for couples. Biden's bigger USD 1,400 payments would extend to higher income levels, up to USD 300,000 for some families.

The Republicans offer USD 40 billion for Paycheck Protection Program business aid. But gone are Democratic priorities such as a gradual lifting of the federal minimum wage to USD 15 an hour.