WASHINGTON, D.C. — Members of Congress are returning to Washington this week with a big to-do list item: figure out the next round of pandemic relief.
President Joe Biden wants his $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan” passed as soon as possible.
What You Need To Know
- Democrats and Republicans are divided over Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal
- Ohio Democrats agree with Biden that every dollar is necessary and needed immediately
- Ohio Republicans think the proposal is filled with unnecessary wish list items and isn’t warranted right away
- Because Democrats control both the House and Senate, they can pass it without GOP support
He reiterated Monday that he thinks every dollar is necessary.
“Now critics say the plan is too big. Let me ask them a rhetorical question. What would you have me cut? What would you leave out?” Biden said during a White House event.
Ohio Republicans have some items in mind.
They are against putting a minimum wage increase in the package, and many don’t think expanding certain tax credits has to do with coronavirus.
They also argue Congress just passed a relief bill in December and the money from it has barely started flowing.
“There's a trillion dollars still unspent,” Rep. Warren Davidson (R, OH-8) said in a Skype interview last week. "The biggest thing that we've needed since May/June is flexibility for the money that states and local governments already have. And we still need that.”
Because Democrats now control the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, they are planning to use a legislative process called "budget reconciliation" to pass Biden’s relief plan.
Basically, budget reconciliation will allow Democrats to pass the plan without Republican support.
Republicans used it back in 2017 to pass their tax plan, which Democrats were furious about. But now, Democrats said the pandemic requires urgent action and they don’t feel Republicans are willing to negotiate.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said he’d prefer a bipartisan deal, but ultimately, Ohioans just want relief.
“They don’t really care if it was a bipartisan agreement to help their lives. They care that we help their lives,” Brown said in a virtual interview last week.
But Columbus-area Congressman Steve Stivers (R, OH-15) thinks Democrats are acting irresponsibly with trillions of taxpayer dollars.
“You can’t even call it COVID negotiations. The majority is not talking to us on the Senate side or the House side right now,” Stivers said in a Skype interview last Friday.
The House is expected to vote on the relief package at the end of this week before it heads over to the Senate to be considered.