A bipartisan group of senators, as well as the Republican and Democratic leaders of a moderate group in the House of Representatives, asked the White House on Sunday about President Joe Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion aid proposal.
Brian Deese, head of Biden’s National Economic Council, was pushed to justify what would be the second largest emergency package of all time.
Shares pulled back on news of Schumer’s schedule after Biden last week underscored the need to act quickly amid the ongoing onslaught of the pandemic. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% as of 2:15 p.m. in New York after hitting a record high on Thursday.
House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi told donors on a phone call last week that she originally intended to get the Biden relief plan through quick budgeting in the first two weeks of Congress, but she said those plans were in the air.
The Schumer timeline reflects the length it might take to compile an invoice using the expedited budget reconciliation required to bypass a minority Republican filibuster. The House of Representatives and the Senate would first have to work out a budget resolution for the 2021 financial year. This Senate process involves a sub-vote that allows hundreds of budget amendments to be offered for simple majority votes. The solution can take days.
Once a simultaneous budget resolution with reconciliation instructions is adopted, the committees would have to work out legislation that complies with the draft. That legislation would then have to be passed by both the House and the Senate, assessed by the Congressional Budget Office, and survive any regulatory challenge in the Senate. The second process would likely take weeks.
Another complication: The Senate has now agreed to initiate impeachment proceedings against former President Donald Trump from February 9. It is unclear how long this process will take.
The conference call between the White House and non-partisan lawmakers on Sunday discussed the need to quickly pass a funding bill for the coronavirus vaccine. Separating Biden’s other priorities, however, could result in the administration losing leverage on issues such as extending family and medical leave and increasing the minimum wage.
In addition to the delays, Schumer and Senate Minority Chairman Mitch McConnell have yet to agree on organizing the 50:50 Senate, which is holding back the ability of the committees to get their work done on the legislation. McConnell wants the Democrats to pledge not to remove the 60-vote filibuster final requirement for most laws as part of the deal – a proposal that Schumer said was unacceptable.
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