President-elect Joe Biden will seek a deal with Republicans on another round of COVID-19 relief, rather than attempting to ram a package through without their support, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The approach could mean a smaller initial package that features some priorities favored by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. The idea is to forgo using a special budget process that would remove the need to get the support of at least 10 Republicans in the Senate, which will be split 50-50 and under Democratic control only thanks to the vice president’s vote.
Glenn Hall is Executive Vice President, Information Services and oversees Arizent's editorial and subscription sales teams. Over the course of three decades, Hall has held senior leadership roles in journalism, digital content strategy, and business information services. Before joining Arizent, he was a Partner and Executive Editor at Brunswick Group, where he led global content initiatives that helped business leaders navigate complex issues, including cybersecurity, sustainability, and regulatory change. Previously, Hall served as Global Chief Editor of Dow Jones Newswires and Head of Professional News at The Wall Street Journal, overseeing the WSJ Pro and C-Suite news, data and research services. His career also includes top editorial roles at MarketWatch, TheStreet, The Orange County Register, and Bloomberg, where he played a pivotal role in shaping business intelligence products, expanding audience engagement, and developing innovative research and data-driven content offerings.
Gary Carrai serves as chief product officer with LPL Financial.
Earlier in his career, he was a financial advisor with Lydian Wealth Management, a multifamily office based in the Washington, D.C. area.
Kelly leads strategic partnerships, industry alliances, and go-to-market strategy for Vertafore's insurance carrier and MGA suites of products. Maheu's career in insurance and financial services spans nearly 15 years and includes serving as Vice President of Professional Publishing and Training at The National Underwriter Company and as Executive Director at The National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA).
Biden transition staff briefed aides to congressional Democrats on Tuesday about the plans to work with the GOP and not use so-called budget reconciliation in an initial stimulus package.
The briefing came a day after former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle urged his party to give McConnell “reasons to be cooperative,” which would unlock greater legislative achievements.
Biden last week talked of a multitrillion-dollar economic package, but this could now come in stages.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, who’s been speaking with the Biden transition team, said in an interview Tuesday that he would like to see infrastructure spending included in the stimulus package, and that he would be on board with a $2 trillion package.
“It strikes me as it won’t be that difficult to get there,” Neal said.
Neal also said he wants to explore ways to fix state unemployment-insurance distribution systems and to funnel more money to workers in states with low state-level benefits.
Earlier Tuesday, incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told his Democratic colleagues that his top priority after his caucus takes control will be COVID-19 emergency-relief legislation. He highlighted boosting direct payments to most Americans to $2,000 from the $600 enacted in December, additional support for vaccine distribution, and help for small businesses, families, schools and state and local governments.
Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said she thinks the House-passed Heroes Act, a $2.2 trillion measure from October — some of which became part of the $900 billion bipartisan compromise enacted in December — would be the framework for an “updated” bill that could pass in a few weeks. She added that paid leave could be part of the bill.
Also on the table: expanded unemployment aid, which runs out in mid-March under the December relief bill, a date that serves as an effective deadline for Congress for the next round.
The money for testing, vaccines, childcare, schools and state and local governments sought by Democrats is generally thought by aides to be excluded from being allowed under the special budget reconciliation process under Senate rules.
The budget tool can be used for fiscal provisions such as raising or cutting taxes, extending unemployment aid, changing Medicare or Medicaid or stimulus payments. It would require Congress to adopt a concurrent budget resolution with specific instructions and then later pass a reconciliation bill with just a simple majority in the Senate.
— With assistance from Jennifer Epstein