The GOP stimulus counteroffer, explained – By Li Zhou and Emily Stewart (VOX) / Feb 1 2021
A group of Senate Republicans is countering Biden’s Covid-19 relief proposal.
Two weeks after President Joe Biden released his opening bid on an economic stimulus plan, Senate Republicans have put theirs out. And there is quite a bit of distance between them.
In an outline unveiled Monday, 10 Republican lawmakers laid out their $618 billion proposal, with less than a third of the funds in the $1.9 trillion rescue plan Biden has introduced.
The offer shows a fundamental difference in how Republican lawmakers want to approach the public health and economic crises: Namely, they want something more targeted and aren’t interested in a comprehensive approach. Biden — and many economists — have argued that the country does need more expansive support to endure the fallout from Covid-19. Democrats are also wary of going too small on stimulus and repeating the mistakes of the 2009 Great Recession, when Congress was too conservative in its response, resulting in a slower and more uneven recovery.
Republicans, however, have said they prefer a narrow plan that tackles more immediate public health needs like distributing the vaccine. And they want to make sure the funding from Congress’s most recent stimulus package — approved in December — is fully spent first.
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