President Joe Biden holds discussions with 10 Republican Senators over his $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan” to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic and its economic effects.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met the GOP group, who have made a $618 billion counterproposal, in the White House on Monday evening.

The President’s staff and leading staffs have indicated that the smaller package is unacceptable. It excludes aid to states and communities with cash-strapped budgets, lowers the one-off payments to millions of Americans, and limits the extension of unemployment benefits to three months.

But Biden has said that he would prefer a bipartisan approval of the plan. Democrats need support from 10 Senate Republicans to avoid a filibuster, or to pursue the package through a process called “reconciliation”, which requires only a simple majority.

After the two-hour meeting, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, the leader of the Republican group, said the discussion had been excellent, although she “wouldn’t say that we came together on a package tonight”. She said the two sides agreed to continue their talks.

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana summarized, “[Biden] said, ‘Let’s have our staffs share numbers and let’s build on that.’ If we’re going to go forward as a country we have to do a better job than we’ve been doing of figuring out where those who disagree with us are coming from.”

The White House signalled that while seeking accord, it would not make major changes in the package. Jared Bernstein of the Council of Economic Advisers said Biden would not support scaling back the additional stimulus payment of $1,400 to millions of Americans.

Press Secretary Jen Psaki praised the “substantive and productive” meeting, but continued, “[The President] reiterated that he will not slow down work on this urgent crisis response, and will not settle for a package that fails to meet the moment.”

The US Coronavirus death toll reached 443,205 on Monday, an increase of 3,669 in 24 hours. Confirmed cases are 26,317,540, a rise of 242,437.

“Act Big”

The Republican proposal includes Biden’s $160 billion for vaccine distribution and development, Coronavirus testing, and the production of personal protective equipment; $20 billion to help schools reopen; and more relief for small businesses.

The GOP group reduces the one-off direct payment to $1,000 and excludes individuals who earn more than $50,000. Its weekly unemployment payments at $300 through June instead of $400 through September.

The counterproposal also scraps Biden’s introduction of a rise in the minimum wage to $15/hour by 2025 for Federal Government workers.

Biden’s aides indicate he could reduce but not eliminate — the amount of aid to local and state governments, and raise the income threshold for eligibility to receive the one-off payment.

But they are holding the line at much more aid for unemployed workers, families struggling to pay for food and housing, and schools needing resources to reopen safely.

Democratic Senators said they would stand firm behind the American Rescue Plan.

Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the incoming Finance Committee chairman, criticized the Republican counterproposal as “an insult to the millions of workers and families struggling to survive this crisis”.

He added, “A bill that sets up yet another cliff for jobless workers in a few short months is a non-starter.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York filed a joint budget resolution, with a timetable for votes in the Senate by the end of the week.

“The smartest thing we can do is act big, according to Treasury Secretary [Janet] Yellen,” Schumer said. “That is what the Senate is going to do: Act big.”

Schumer said he welcomed Republican input, but “the only thing we cannot accept is a package that is too small or too narrow to pull our country out of this emergency”.