WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and the rest of the group of 10 Republicans who met with President Joe Biden at the White House in an attempt to negotiate a sixth bipartisan COVID-19 relief package released a statement in response to President Biden’s comments attempting to rewrite history to justify his Administration’s abandonment of bipartisanship on COVID relief.
The group of 10 Republican Senators released the following statement:
“In good faith, our group of 10 Republicans worked together to draft a sixth COVID-19 relief package earlier this year. Our $618 billion proposal was a first offer to the White House designed to open bipartisan negotiations. Our package included the core COVID relief elements of the Biden Administration’s plan, such as providing an identical amount—$160 billion—to support vaccines and testing. In addition, we later upped our offer to $650 billion to increase the size of the stimulus checks.
“The Administration roundly dismissed our effort as wholly inadequate in order to justify its go-it-alone strategy. Fewer than 24 hours after our meeting in the Oval Office, the Senate Democratic Leader began the process of triggering reconciliation which precluded Republican participation and allowed for the package to pass without a single Republican vote.”
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. They met with the President on February 1, 2021 in the Oval Office to discuss the details of their $618 billion COVID-19 relief proposal. The group later introduced a $650 billion proposal that increased the size of the stimulus checks.
###