CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Ten Republican U.S. senators — including West Virginia’s Shelley Moore Capito — will unveil Monday a coronavirus relief framework counter to President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion proposal as lawmakers try to find common ground regarding pandemic-related legislation.
The senators on Sunday sent a letter to Biden requesting a meeting on their plan and “how we can work together to meet the needs of the American people during this persistent pandemic.”
According to Sen Bill Cassidy, R-La., the GOP proposal would cost $600 billion.
“We’re targeted to the needs of the American people,” he told Fox News. “Treating our tax dollars as if they’re our tax dollars — not just money to spend — and putting it where we need to come out of the pandemic.”
The senators noted to Biden the similarities between their plan and the White House pitch, including $160 billion for coronavirus vaccine development and distribution, testing and contact tracing, and manufacturing personal protective equipment. The Republican legislators also want $4 billion for behavioral health and substance misuse services.
The GOP plan also includes another round of payments for Americans, but the senators note the checks should go to families most in need of financial assistance. Biden has proposed $1,400 for most Americans. Cassidy said on “Fox News Sunday” the targeted checks would be worth $1,000.
“Our money goes to that income level where we know it will stimulate the economy, and theoretically, that’s what they actually want,” he explained.
The lawmakers also noted in their letter funding for business assistance programs and child care, as well as an extension of enhanced unemployment benefits.
Capito has previously expressed concerns about passing a coronavirus relief bill in the wake of last month’s $900 billion plan. The Republicans stressed a similar uneasiness in their letter.
“Some of the spending appropriated through the CARES Act, passed last March, also has yet to be exhausted,” they state. “The proposal we have outlined is mindful of these past efforts, while also acknowledging the priorities that need additional support right now.”
Eight of the signees — Capito, Cassidy, Maine’s Susan Collins, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, Utah’s Mitt Romney, Ohio’s Rob Portman, Indiana’s Todd Young and Kansas’ Jerry Moran — are part of the “908 Coalition,” a bipartisan group of senators responsible for designing the December coronavirus relief framework. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., recruited Capito to the alliance ahead of the new Congress.
The letter signals another bump in reaching a compromise on coronavirus relief; Manchin told reporters Friday he was disappointed Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on WSAZ-TV to pitch the Biden administration’s coronavirus package.
“I saw it. I couldn’t believe it. No one called me,” Manchin said. “We’re going to try to find a bipartisan pathway forward. I think we need to, but we need to work together. That’s not a way of working together, what was done.”
Manchin has also stressed to MetroNews the importance of targeting relief payments to individuals and families most impacted by the pandemic.
The Senate is now split 50-50, with Harris serving as a possible tiebreaker if needed. The chamber needs 60 votes on most measures to end debate advance to a final vote, but lawmakers could use reconciliation to pass a coronavirus relief measure with a simple majority.
The Republican-led Senate used reconciliation to pass the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Lawmakers tried to use the same process to pass a “skinny repeal” of former President Barack Obama’s health care law, but the Senate GOP failed to secure a simple majority.