华盛顿——总统乔·拜登周五，他警告称，他的1.9万亿美元的COVID救助计划将面临越来越大的“不作为成本”，因为白宫正在寻找“创造性”的方法来赢得公众对一项遭到参议院共和党人冷淡的方案的支持。
在COVID的时代，这并不像跳上飞机周游全国并试图引起轰动那样简单。在两极分化严重的时候，拜登可能会努力说服共和党选民，国会已经批准了4万亿美元的援助，包括上个月的9000亿美元。
拜登周五首次表示，他愿意在没有共和党人的情况下前进。
“我支持通过COVID救济，如果我们能得到共和党的支持，”他告诉记者。“但COVID救援必须通过。没有如果、和或但是。”
到目前为止，他传达的信息是，如果新的1.9万亿美元援助不通过，与这个世界最大经济体的潜在损害相比，这将是一笔划算的交易。拜登在周五与财政部长珍妮特·耶伦(Janet Yellen)的会议上表示，大力推动疫苗接种和对个人的慷慨援助，将有助于让父母重返工作岗位，让孩子重返校园，提高他们的终身收入。他们在椭圆形办公室会面，为了抵御华盛顿的寒冷，这里点燃了壁炉。
“我们从过去的危机中了解到，风险并没有太大，”他说。“风险在于做得不够。”
就任总统仅一周，拜登就面临着向一个他承诺要团结的国家出售他的第一部重要立法的挑战。与共和党议员的私下通话尚未在达成协议方面取得任何进展，而参议院民主党人现在正准备最早下周严格按照党派界限通过这项措施。
拜登的一些盟友表示，政府没有更清楚地界定这项大规模立法实际上会实现什么，这令他们感到沮丧。取而代之的是，新总统上任的前九天主要致力于签署行政命令，收回其前任的政策。
尤其是拜登，他为冠状病毒的广泛传播疫苗将是一个决定性的测试，还没有解释增加测试和疫苗接种的资金将会达到什么效果，包括白宫认为它将有助于结束大流行的速度有多快。
拜登与参议员的接触在很大程度上招致了批评，即该计划应该更有针对性，美国可以等着看12月份批准的刺激美元的效果。
共和党议员认为有必要加快疫苗接种，但一名参议院助理表示，他们的办公室没有被要求额外援助的呼声轰炸。这位不愿透露姓名的助手说，选民们更关注即将到来的弹劾审判，以讨论私人谈话。
这使得拜登团队试图将其影响力扩大到国会山以外。
白宫新闻秘书Jen Psaki说，拜登认识到直接向美国人民讲述他的疫苗接种和支持经济计划的重要性，但这场流行病限制了他安全旅行以争取支持的能力。政府依靠白宫官员和盟友对当地媒体和全国性节目(如《观点》)的电视采访，以及与州长、地方官员、进步团体和民间团体的通话。
“我们正在采取一些创造性的步骤，有点超出常规，”普萨基说。"当然，他更喜欢坐飞机环游全国。"
挑战的一部分是拜登必须让公众相信他的提案的不同部分将如何协同工作。他的计划拨款4000亿美元，作为国家疫苗接种计划和学校重新开放的先锋。它还包括直接支付给个人的1400美元，批评者说这应该更有针对性。它包括将最低工资提高到15美元，以及对州和地方政府的援助，这对于大多数共和党人来说是不可能的。
许多共和党人面临着来自国内捐助者和活动人士的更多政治压力，要求他们控制支出，而不是批准更多支出。一些共和党人特别反对仍被许多人视为对资金短缺的州和地方政府的纾困。
有些人确实支持协议，但不是拜登提出的。俄亥俄州参议员罗布·波特曼(Rob Portman)是政府联系的两党议员小组的成员，他说，他支持为疫苗分发提供资金，甚至可能提供额外的失业福利，但他希望对以前的援助计划中剩余的资金进行全面核算。
“失业保险，他们认为这是一个紧急情况，我们有失业保险，直到3月中旬。哪里有急事？”波特曼说。“我反对扩大它吗，不，我不反对。我觉得应该，基于一些经济因素。但就是说不通。”
最近的经济报告显示，经济仍然处于严重紧张状态，然而一旦冠状病毒得到控制，也有可能出现20多年来最强劲的增长。
美国商务部周四表示，美国经济去年收缩了3.5%，周五报告称，12月份作为增长主要驱动力的消费者支出下降了0.2%。但消费者支出报告也表明，当月通过的9000亿美元援助计划扩大了失业福利，从而提高了收入。
牛津经济学家格雷戈里·达科(Gregory Daco)表示，“12月的COVID救助法案本质上解决了过去，即2020年底援助减少的问题，”现在，政府必须向公众推销未来的前景。
他说，“美国救援计划——这是一个面向未来的计划，弥合了1月和9月之间的差距，那时人们将能够更自由地消费。”
Biden warns of growing cost of delay on $1.9T econ aid plan
WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden warned Friday of a steep and growing “cost of inaction” on his $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan as the White House searched for “creative” ways to win public support for a package that is getting a cold shoulder from Senate Republicans.
In the age of COVID, it’s not as simple as jumping on a plane to travel the country and try to gin up a groundswell. And at a time of deep polarization, Biden may struggle to convince Republican voters of the urgency when Congress already has approved $4 trillion in aid, including $900 billion last month.
Biden signaled on Friday for the first time that he's willing to move ahead without Republicans.
“I support passing COVID relief with support from Republicans if we can get it," he told reporters. "But the COVID relief has to pass. No ifs, ands or buts.”
His message so far has been that a fresh $1.9 trillion in aid would be a bargain compared to the potential damage to the world's largest economy if it doesn't pass. An aggressive push for vaccinations and generous aid to individuals would help put parents back to work and let children return to school and improve their lifetime earnings, Biden said at a Friday meeting with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. They met in the Oval Office, where the fireplace was lit to protect against the chill in Washington.
“We have learned from past crises that the risk is not doing too much,” he said. “The risk is not doing enough.”
Only a week into his presidency, Biden is confronting the challenge of selling his first major piece of legislation to a country he has pledged to unite. Private calls with Republican lawmakers have yet to produce any progress on reaching a deal, while Senate Democrats are now preparing to pass the measure strictly on partisan lines as soon as next week.
Some Biden allies have expressed frustration that the administration has not more clearly defined what the massive legislation would actually accomplish. The new president instead has largely focused his first nine days in office on signing executive orders rolling back his predecessor’s policies.
In particular, Biden, for whom the widespread distribution of coronavirus vaccines will be a defining test, has not explained what the increased money for testing and vaccination would achieve -- including how much quicker the White House believes it would help bring about an end to the pandemic.
Biden's outreach to senators has largely brought criticism that the plan should be more targeted and that the country can afford to wait to see the effects of the stimulus dollars that were approved in December.
Republican lawmakers see a need for speeding vaccinations, but one Senate aide said their offices are not being bombarded with calls for an additional aid package. Constituents are more focused on the looming impeachment trial, said the aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
This has left the Biden team trying to expand its outreach beyond Capitol Hill.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden recognizes the importance of speaking directly to the American people about his plan for vaccinations and supporting the economy, but the pandemic has limited his ability to safely travel to drum up support. The administration is relying on TV interviews by White House officials and allies with local media and national shows like “The View,” as well as calls with governors, local officials and progressive and civic groups.
“We’re taking a number of creative steps, a little outside of the box,” Psaki said. “Certainly, his preference would be to get on a plane and fly around the country.”
Part of the challenge is that Biden must convince the public how different components of his proposal would work together. His plan allots $400 billion to spearhead a national vaccination program and the reopening of schools. It also includes $1,400 in direct payments to individuals, which critics say should be more targeted. And it includes a raise in the the minimum wage to $15 and aid for state and local governments, a nonstarter for most Republicans.
Many Republicans are under more political pressure from donors and activists back home to rein in spending than to approve more. Some Republicans particularly object to what are still seen by many as bailouts for cash-strapped state and local governments.
Some do support a deal, just not what Biden is offering. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a member of a bipartisan group of legislators contacted by the administration, said he supports funds for vaccine distribution and even potentially extra jobless benefits, but he wants a full accounting of what funding remains from previous aid packages.
“Unemployment insurance, they think it’s an emergency, well we have unemployment insurance in place until mid March. Where’s the emergency?” Portman said. “Am I against extending it, no I’m not. I think we should, based on some economic factors. But it just doesn’t make sense.”
Recent economic reports show the economy is still under severe strain, yet there is also the potential for the strongest growth in more than two decades once the coronavirus is contained.
The Commerce Department said Thursday the U.S. economy shrank 3.5% last year, and on Friday it reported that consumer spending — the main driver of growth — had slumped 0.2% in December. But the consumer spending report also suggested that the expanded unemployment benefits from the $900 billion aid package passed that same month had managed to boost incomes.
Gregory Daco, an economist at Oxford Economics, said, "The COVID relief bill of December essentially addressed the past, the dwindling aid at the end of 2020,” Now the administration must sell the public on what lies ahead.
He said, “The American Rescue Plan — it’s a plan geared toward the future, bridging the gap between January and September, when people will be able to spend more freely.”
