[Washington Examiner] House and Senate lawmakers pledged to work toward a bipartisan deal on the next round of coronavirus aid, but Democrats are now preparing to ram through a measure unilaterally in a move that will all but shelve a deal Republicans could support."I support passing COVID relief with support from Republicans if we can get it, but the COVID relief has to pass. No ifs, ands, or buts," President Biden told reporters on Friday.
Biden’s comments mirror what Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have warned for days: They have little patience for the GOP and are planning to pave the way for passing coronavirus aid, and perhaps other legislation, with only 51 votes.
Both the House and Senate plan to take up budget resolutions as early as next week that will include language allowing the aid package to pass without requiring the usual 60-vote threshold.
The rarely used tactic, known as budget reconciliation, allows Congress to pass legislation through the Senate with a simple majority if it conforms to certain requirements and directly affects the federal budget. Democrats control 50 seats and hold the Senate majority with the tiebreaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.
"Our preference is to make this important work bipartisan," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said. "But if our Republican colleagues decide to oppose this urgent and necessary legislation, we will have to move forward without them."
The threat from both Biden and Schumer threw cold water on burgeoning bipartisan talks between Republicans and Democrats and Biden administration officials.
"It’s certainly not helpful," Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who has been part of the bipartisan aid talks.
Biden has proposed a $1.9 trillion aid package that includes a provision to raise the minimum wage nationally to $15 per hour.
Republicans hope to negotiate a smaller bill that provides funding for vaccine production and distribution and perhaps a new round of stimulus checks targeted at lower-income individuals and families.
The bid to bridge the differences between Democrats and Republicans barely began before Democrats put budget reconciliation on the agenda for next week.
"That's going send a signal to America, and to Republicans throughout Congress, that this president's message of unity was rhetoric as opposed to substance," Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican, said.
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