I suppose it's a sign of a return to wretched normalcy: a group of Republican senators led by Maine's Susan Collins has proposed a counteroffer to the Biden admin's COVID-19 relief plan, and of course it's less than one-tenth of the proposed Democratic spending plan.
A group of Senate Republicans is requesting a meeting with President Joe Biden to begin bipartisan negotiations on the next coronavirus relief bill, even as Democratic leaders are prepared this week to go down a path that could pass a new $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package with all Democratic votes.
In a letter to Biden sent on Sunday, 10 Senate Republicans informed the president that they are working on a counterproposal focusing on spending $160 billion on vaccines, testing, treatment and personal protective equipment. Led by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the senators said that if Biden signs off on their framework, “we believe that this plan could be approved quickly by Congress with bipartisan support.”
“In the spirit of bipartisanship and unity, we have developed a COVID-19 relief framework that builds on prior COVID assistance laws, all of which passed with bipartisan support,” the senators wrote to Biden. “We request the opportunity to meet with you to discuss our proposal in greater detail and how we can work together to meet the needs of the American people during this persistent pandemic.”
The letter is a clear attempt to head off Democratic efforts to pursue budget reconciliation as the pathway to the next round of coronavirus aid. This week, Democrats in both chambers are planning to pass budget resolutions allowing the party to approve Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus plan without GOP votes.
Still, that path has little room for error: All 50 Senate Democrats would need to be on board, and House leaders could afford few defections. And Republicans in a bipartisan negotiating group have urged Biden to squash the effort to move forward without them, though Democrats are skeptical they will ever come on board with the large spending plan they say is needed to revive the economy.
The Biden administration said it would see what the Senate Republicans had to offer. “We’ve received the letter and we certainly will be reviewing it over the course of the day,” Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, said on CNN's "State of the Union."
Deese elaborated on NBC's "Meet the Press": "We've been engaging with members of Congress from both parties and both houses over the course of the last week or two. We’ll continue to do that as we go forward. And the president has said repeatedly he is open to ideas, wherever they may come, that we could improve upon the approach to actually tackling this crisis. What he's uncompromising about is the need to move with speed on a comprehensive approach here."
The Republican senators will release more details of their plan Monday, according to a Republican aide. Sunday’s letter indicated it will also extend unemployment benefits that expire in March, match Biden’s request for nutrition assistance and send a new round of payments to “those families who need assistance the most, including their dependent children and adults.” It will also address child care, small business aid and school funding.
Again, this is the whole "We're the ones in charge now, here's what we'll let you have" plan from the Obama days. Obama fell for it and it cost the Dems the House and in a catastrophic 2010 midterm, followed by the Senate in a 2014 midterm disaster where turnout was the lowest in generations...and then the White House in 2016.
The phenomenal gall of these bastards.
No, Biden should ignore this, and Schumer and Pelosi should press on and get 100% of what they proposed through budget reconciliation, and Dems should have a good laugh. If they fall for this, which will turn into a delay of months followed by no bill because the GOP will yank the football away, Dems will be right back to where they are now, only after having wasted 60 or 90 days or more.
Nope.
Screw 'em and take the win, guys.
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