Biden To Push Congress for New $1.9 Trillion Coronavirus Relief

The Biden administration is set to push Democratic and Republican lawmakers for a new $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill to avert an economic crisis.

According to Reuters, the Biden administration and lawmakers discussing the coronavirus relief agreed on Sunday that they should prioritize vaccine production and distribution.

Brian Deese, one of Pres. Joe Biden's top economic aides, said he would speak to the lawmakers to make the case of a "large rescue plan," a report from WION News noted.

"We can't wait," White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Sunday.

Jean-Pierre also said she hoped that even though Washington faced stalemates with coronavirus relief in the past, this additional relief won't face that issue.

Deese also said the discussion on coronavirus relief had been "robust," and the two sides of the aisle will continue working together on it.

More than 400,000 people died in America due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with about 175,000 infected by the virus daily. Millions of people were also thrown out of work.

Only starting his term on Wednesday, the pandemic poses an immediate crisis to the Biden administration. However, he promised an aggressive campaign against the pandemic.

According to White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, there were no plans on how to distribute the COVID-19 vaccines to millions of Americans in need of it when Pres. Biden took office.

After signing executive orders on economic relief on Friday, Pres. Biden said: "The bottom line is this: We're in a national emergency, and we need to act like we're in a national emergency."

$1.9 Trillion Coronavirus Relief to Aid in Pandemic Response, Enhance Payments

The additional $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief is still needed for pandemic response and providing enhanced jobless aid and direct payments, on top of the already approved $4 trillion.

Although the Democratic Party holds narrow control of both the House and Senate, legislation on coronavirus relief will likely need bipartisan support.

The Washington Post noted that lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties have lobbied for more targeted coronavirus relief.

Some Lawmakers Question $1.9 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Plan

Some of them questioned items that were included in Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan. Republican Senator Mitt Romney said on "Fox News Sunday" that the $1.9 trillion price tag was "shocking."

"Spending and borrowing trillions of dollars from the Chinese among others is not necessarily the best thing we can do to get our economy to be strong long term," he said.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also knew that Republicans in the Senate weren't all giving positive remarks about the proposal.

Still, he hoped they would see the need for the amount after their Sunday meeting. If GOP members still refuse, Schumer said, "there are tools we can use to move forward on our own."

Some of the "tools" Schumer was pertaining to included a process of allowing major legislation to pass in the Senate on a simple majority.

According to Daily Mail, Biden's coronavirus relief proposal includes $1,400 in checks, tax breaks, and enhanced unemployment benefits.