Biden makes his case to the American people for Covid-19 relief

On Jan 30, 2021

With Congress still deeply polarized following former President Donald Trump’s acrimonious exit, and with dangerous variants of the coronavirus circulating in the US, the President signaled a new sense of urgency Friday about the need to get his $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package passed — even if he is not able to bring Republicans along.

Meeting with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in the Oval Office, the President warned of the “cost of inaction,” pointing to alarming new job losses, the hunger that some 30 million Americans are facing every day, as well as the possibility that “an entire cohort of kids” could face “lower lifetime earnings because they’re deprived of another semester of school.”

“We have to act now; there’s no time for delay,” Biden said.

He punctuated that point less than two hours later on his way to visit Walter Reed National Military Medical Center when a reporter asked him whether he was willing to achieve his goals by using reconciliation — an arcane procedural tactic that would allow Democrats to pass the relief bill on a party-line vote.

“I support passing Covid relief with support from Republicans if we can get it,” Biden replied. “But the Covid relief has to pass. There’s no ifs, ands or buts.”

Biden has been firm about his efforts to reach across the aisle, but he is making it evident that he does not intend to wait forever before pressing ahead with his agenda. Administration officials are expected to continue their outreach to Republican senators through this weekend and into next week, and Biden has personally reached out to more moderate GOP senators like Susan Collins of Maine and Rob Portman of Ohio.

But his team is also increasingly making their case to the American people, as the administration faces resistance to the size and scope of the bill from the GOP. In all of Friday’s White House events, the underlying message was clear, and aimed squarely at the American people: your daily lives will not change without a substantial relief package to reinvigorate the economy and give schools and health care providers the resources they need to speed up vaccinations.

Biden seeks to intensify public lobbying for Covid-19 relief bill amid the pandemic

Persuading that broader audience could be an effective tool as frustration grows across America about the slow pace of vaccinations and the anemic economy — one that could nudge wavering Democrats and some Republicans to get on board.

It was no coincidence that Vice President Kamala Harris popped up this week in the backyards of moderate Democratic senators like Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, to press for swift passage of Biden’s proposal. Speaking to editors and executives from the Charleston Gazette-Mail and Herald-Dispatch in West Virginia, Harris made the case that lives are on the line.

“If we don’t pass this bill, it is our sincere belief that more people will die who should not, more people will lose their jobs who should not and more children will miss critical days in class,” Harris said to her audience in…