Stuck in DC, Biden team pitches rest of US on big virus aid
WASHINGTON (AP) — Even as President Joe Biden gathers with senators and works the phones with Capitol Hill to push for a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, his team is increasingly focused on selling the plan directly to voters.
His administration has done 60-plus interviews with national TV and radio shows. There have been spots on local TV news and briefings last week with more than 50 groups that ranged from General Motors to Meals on Wheels America and Planned Parenthood. One of the main goals is to stop people from getting bogged down in the tangle of partisan deal-making and convince them that every penny of the “go big” package is needed.
“The public is not getting caught up in process — what they want is results,” said Cedric Richmond, the White House director of public engagement. “People these days are not worried about the inside-the-beltway terminology. They’re looking at who’s doing what to help.”
The president told House Democrats on Wednesday that he views the package's proposal for $1,400 in direct payments to individuals as a foundational promise to voters and he cannot break that pledge in his first legislative action. It represents a strategic bet by the White House that voters will suspend their partisan beliefs to evaluate the plan and support its massive scope.
Biden has suggested he may be flexible on the $1.9 trillion topline figure for the plan and on ways to more narrowly target who gets direct payments. But the $1,400 amount — on top of $600 in payments approved in December — appears to be non-negotiable.
"I’m not going to start my administration by breaking a promise to the American people,” he said.
The extensive package comes after $4 trillion in rescue spending that cushioned the financial blow from the pandemic but did little to stop the disease. It...
