既然前任总统唐纳德·特朗普美国第二次弹劾审判已经结束，乔·拜登总统本周正努力将注意力转移到他雄心勃勃的议程上，新冠肺炎和他的2万亿美元救助计划占据了中心位置。
随着拜登继续努力争取至少一些参议院共和党人的支持，他还将在作为总统的第一次正式访问期间，把他的信息带到华盛顿以外，直接传达给美国人民。
周二，拜登将参加美国有线电视新闻网在威斯康星州密尔沃基的市政厅电视节目，然后于周四前往密歇根州卡拉马祖，预计他将在那里参观辉瑞公司目前生产新冠肺炎疫苗的生产设施，并会见工人。
自他在两个州宣誓就职以来，这些访问也将使他第一次有机会与普通美国人互动，这两个州对他在2020年的选举中至关重要，有助于他入主白宫。
全国范围内对COVID救济的推动也伴随着时间的流逝。
国会通过的最后一轮刺激计划将于3月14日到期，拜登还有不到一个月的时间赢得共和党人的支持，并在纾困结束前使该法案在众议院和参议院获得通过，并摆在他的办公桌上。
尽管时间紧迫，拜登在参议院最亲密的盟友之一、特拉华州的民主党参议员克里斯·库恩斯(Chris Coons)表示，民主党人有信心实现拜登的第一次重大立法推动，称这在华盛顿以外获得了广泛支持。
“[:一个月后，由于一千万美国人的失业检查即将停止，我们可以着手一项只针对民主党的法案。库恩斯周日在美国广播公司的“本周”节目中说:“拜登总统正在团结美国人民，他在四分之三的美国人民的支持下如释重负地前进。”
拜登的盟友表示，尽管总统仍致力于赢得两党的支持，但他不会放弃在党派基础上继续前进的选择。
“我们有许多共和党市长、州长，这个国家有超过50%的共和党人。46%的特朗普支持者。只有一个地方我们还没有人报名。白宫高级顾问兼公众参与办公室主任塞德里克·里士满周一在美国有线电视新闻网上说。
“我们仍然每天都在努力，看看能否获得共和党对该计划的支持。里士满补充说:“我们不会做的是放慢速度，通过等待来满足美国人民的需求。
即使在特朗普弹劾审判期间，拜登也继续努力加强两党对他的美国救援计划的支持，周五在椭圆形办公室与共和党和民主党的市长和州长举行了会议，而众议院民主党人也通过和解进程推进了该法案，鉴于他们在参议院的微弱多数，这将使他们能够通过党内投票通过该措施。
政府还推进了对病毒的遏制努力，发布了疾病控制和预防中心关于安全重开学校的新指南，宣布采购足够的疫苗剂量，以在7月底前完全覆盖3亿美国人，并在Healthcare.gov启动了为期3个月的特殊医疗保健注册期，因为这种流行病继续激增，使许多美国人失业。
拜登在周一关于招生期启动的声明中表示，看到国会迅速通过该计划“令人鼓舞”。但迄今为止，国会中没有共和党人表示支持该法案美国广播公司新闻/益普索民意调查不到一半的美国人仅在民主党的支持下支持拜登的通过。
白宫表示，拜登预计本周还将在全球范围内对新冠肺炎发表讲话，参加周五与七国集团领导人的虚拟会议，会议将包括“关注全球对COVID大流行的反应，包括疫苗生产、分销和供应的协调，以及通过建设国家能力和建立卫生安全融资，继续努力动员和合作应对新出现的传染病的威胁”。
Biden to take push for COVID relief plan outside Washington
Now that former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial is over, President Joe Biden is working this week to shift attention back to his ambitious agenda, with COVID-19 and his $2 trillion relief package taking center stage.
As Biden continues to work to get at least some Senate Republicans on board, he’ll also take his message outside of Washington and directly to the American people while making his first official trips as president.
On Tuesday, Biden will take part in a televised CNN town hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, before heading to Kalamazoo, Michigan Thursday, where he is expected to tour a Pfizer manufacturing facility currently producing the COVID-19 vaccine and meet with workers.
The visits will also give him his first opportunity to interact with everyday Americans since taking his oath of office in two states that were critical flips for him in the 2020 election, helping to put him in the White House.
President Joe Biden boards Air Force One prior to departure from Hagerstown Regional Airport in Hagerstown, Md., Feb. 15, 2021, as he returns to Washington, D.C., following a weekend at Camp David.
The national push on COVID relief also comes with a ticking clock.
The last round of stimulus passed by Congress is set to expire on March 14, leaving Biden less than a month to win the support of Republicans and get the bill through both the House and the Senate and on his desk before the relief ends.
Regardless of the time crunch, Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, one of Biden’s closest allies in the Senate, expressed confidence Democrats will deliver on Biden’s first big legislative push, saying it has broad support outside Washington.
"[I]f a month from now as unemployment checks are on the verge of stopping for ten million Americans, we can proceed with a Democrat-only bill. President Biden is uniting the American people, he's moving forward with relief that has the support of three-quarters of the American people," Coons said on ABC’s "This Week" Sunday.
President Joe Biden speaks on Covid-19 response in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Jan. 26, 2021.
Biden allies say while the president is still committed to earning bipartisan support, he won’t take the option of proceeding on a partisan basis off the table.
“We have many Republican mayors, governors, we have more than 50% of Republicans in this country. 46% of Trump supporters. There is just one place we don't have anybody who’s signed on yet. That's in the United States Congress,” Cedric Richmond, a White House senior adviser and director of the Office of Public Engagement, said on CNN Monday.
“We are still working every day to see if we can get Republican support for the plan. What we won't do is slow down and not meet the needs of the American people by waiting,” Richmond added.
President Joe Biden meets with governors and mayors in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Feb. 12, 2021, to discuss the vital need to pass the American Rescue Plan to get more support to their communities and those on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19.
Even amid the Trump impeachment trial, Biden continued his efforts to bolster bipartisan support for his American Rescue Plan, holding meetings with Republican and Democratic mayors and governors in the Oval Office on Friday, while House Democrats also pushed ahead on the bill through the reconciliation process that would allow them to pass the measure on a party-line vote given their slim majority in the Senate.
The administration has also pushed ahead on containment efforts for the virus, releasing new guidance from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention for reopening schools safely, announcing the procurement of enough vaccines doses to fully cover 300 million Americans by the end of July, and launching a special 3-month health care enrollment period on Healthcare.gov as the pandemic continues to surge, leaving many Americans out of work.
In his statement on the launch of the enrollment period Monday, Biden said it was "encouraging to see Congress moving quickly" to pass the plan. But so far, no Republicans in Congress have signaled support for the bill that according to a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll, less than half of Americans support Biden passing with just the support of the Democrats alone.
Biden is also expected to address COVID-19 globally this week, taking part in a virtual meeting with leaders from the G-7 Friday that will include “a focus on a global response to the COVID pandemic, including coordination on vaccine production, distribution, and supplies, as well as continued efforts to mobilize and cooperate against the threat of emerging infectious diseases by building country capacity and establishing health security financing,” according to the White House.
