President-elect Joe Biden rolled out a sweeping $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue proposal Thursday that would bankroll $1,400 stimulus checks to most U.S. taxpayers and provide billions of dollars in more relief for unemployed workers, small businesses and states in a bid to steady the country’s pandemic-ravaged economy.
The so-called “American Rescue Plan” — which marks Biden’s opening salvo in the stimulus talks that are set to resume on Capitol Hill after his inauguration on Wednesday — even includes a provision to raise the federal minimum wage to $15-per-hour, reflecting the president-elect’s confidence as he prepares to take office with Democratic control of both chambers of Congress.
The stimulus blueprint also earmarks $160 billion to establish a national vaccination program as the country scrambles to beat back the virus, which is entering its worst phase yet with thousands of Americans dying every day and the total U.S. death toll nearing 400,000.
Included as well is language to ensure better vaccine access for Blacks and Latinos, who are dying and suffering from the virus at a far higher rate than other demographics.
“We not only have an economic imperative to act now, I believe we have a moral obligation,” Biden said at his transition team headquarters in Wilmington, Del. “In this pandemic, in America, we cannot let people go hungry. We cannot let people get evicted. We cannot watch nurses and educators and others lose their jobs. We must act now and act decisively.”
Biden’s plan received a ringing endorsement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who will lead the charge in turning the president-elect’s proposal into law.
“The emergency relief framework announced by the incoming Biden-Harris administration (Thursday) is the right approach,” Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement. “It shows that Democrats will finally have a partner at the White House that understands the need to take swift action to address the needs of struggling communities.”
The $1,400 stimulus checks in Biden’s plan are meant to top up the $600 payments issued in December as part of the $908 billion stimulus signed into law by President Trump.
On the unemployment front, Biden wants people out of work to receive an extra $400-per-week federal bonus on top of whatever jobless benefits they receive from their states.
The December stimulus package provided a similar bonus at $300-per-week, but that supplement is set to expire in a few weeks, and the latest weekly Labor Department report recorded nearly 1 million new unemployment claims, suggesting businesses are shutting down and laying off workers at an increasing rate amid worsening virus outbreaks.
Economic relief for small businesses is in Biden’s blueprint as well, with $15 billion in grants and nearly $200 billion in investments and low-interest loans.
Aid for reopening schools is another priority on Biden’s wish-list.
Some $170 billion is proposed for a variety of education initiatives, like improving remote learning modules and hiring more teachers in order to keep class sizes smaller.
There are also provisions for beefed-up paid leave and food assistance programs, as well as budget relief for state and local governments and cash-strapped transit agencies like New York City’s MTA.
At the very bottom of the Biden framework is $10.2 billion to improve U.S. cybersecurity — a response to the massive SolarWinds hack into U.S. government agencies that took place on Trump’s watch. Russia is believed to have launched the SolarWinds intrusion.
“I know what I just described does not come cheaply, but we simply can’t afford not to do what I’m proposing,” Biden said. “If we invest now boldly, smartly and with unwavering focus on American workers and families, we will strengthen our economy, reduce inequity and put our nation’s long-term finances on the most sustainable course.”
Biden’s stimulus proposal likely wouldn’t have been as wide-ranging if the Democrats lost Georgia’s double Senate runoff elections earlier this month.
Thanks to the Democratic sweep in Georgia, Biden has an incentive to push ambitious legislation, since spending-averse Senate Republicans won’t have much leverage to block him.
Still, Biden’s coronavirus relief bill will need at least nine Republican votes in the Senate to pass.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), a key Biden ally, preemptively called on her moderate GOP colleagues to drop partisan attempts to derail the $1.9 trillion package.
“If Senate Republicans want unity they should join us in taking on this challenge,” Baldwin tweeted. “Let’s work with President-elect Biden to pass emergency relief legislation that moves the American Rescue Plan forward.”
