President Joe Biden reiterated Friday that his administration does not plan to significantly negotiate down from its proposed $1.9 stimulus package.

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Joe Biden reiterated Friday that his administration does not plan to significantly negotiate down from its proposed $1.9 stimulus package.

In prepared remarks from the White House, Biden said that when presented with the choice to either quickly provide economic relief to Americans or reach a bipartisan compromise on a bill, he said the choice was easy. He said he would help "people who are hurting" across the country.

He also criticized Republicans for their continued criticisms regarding the price of his proposed bill.

"What Republicans have proposed is that we do nothing, or we don't do enough," Biden said.Biden also appeared to draw a line in the sand when it came to negotiations in direct payments to most Americans.I'm not cutting the size of the checks. They're $1,400, period," Biden said. "That's what the American people were promised."Biden added that he believed the country faced a greater risk in not acting to address the U.S.'s sluggish economy.

"The way I see it, the risk is not if we go too big. It's if we go too small," he said.

Biden's comments came hours after, Vice President Harris cast her first tie-breaking vote in order to pass a key measure that paves the way for Democrats to pass Biden’s relief package without Republican support.

Biden’s plan is expansive and would address many issues related to the coronavirus crisis.

The bill would allocate money to mount a national vaccination program, attempt to contain COVID-19 and safely reopen schools across the country. Specifically, the White House says the plan would set up community vaccination sites, scale up testing and tracing, invest in treatments, provide paid sick leave, and address health disparities.

It would also provide another round of direct payments to many Americans. The original bill calls for sending $1,400 checks to people making $75,000 a year or below. Though, while negotiating, the Biden administration has discussed lowering the income threshold to $50,000, The Washington Post reports.