WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), part of the group of 10 Republican Senators, unveiled the details of their Covid-19 relief proposal this morning. At the President’s invitation, the group will meet with President Biden this afternoon at the White House to discuss the proposal in further detail.
“Mr. President, we recognize your calls for unity and want to work in good faith with your Administration to meet the health, economic, and societal challenges of the COVID crisis,” said the Senators. “We share many of your priorities, and our plan includes: increasing funding for the production and distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine; providing economic relief for Americans with the greatest need; extending enhanced federal unemployment benefits; providing nutrition assistance to help struggling families; providing additional assistance for our small businesses; getting our children safely back to school and ensuring they can stay open; and increasing resources for child care, which is critical to getting Americans back to work. We look forward to discussing our proposal in detail with you this afternoon at the White House.”
Cassidy, along with Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Rob Portman (R-OH), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Todd Young (R-IN), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Thom Tillis (R-NC), sent a letter to President Biden on Sunday, January 31, outlining their Covid-19 relief compromise and requesting a meeting.
Since March 2019, Congress has passed five bipartisan Covid-19 relief bills and provided more than $4 trillion in COVID-19 relief. The latest Covid-19 relief packaged provided $900 billion in additional resources and was signed into law on December 27, 2020. Much of that assistance is only now being disbursed.
Here are the details of the Senators’ proposal: (chart)
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