President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with Republican lawmakers to discuss a COVID-19 relief package in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday.
The meeting comes after the group issued a joint open letter to the president on Sunday, echoing Biden's calls for unity and urging Biden to work in "a bipartisan manner to combat the COVID-19 virus and provide continued support to families struggling during the pandemic."
The senators had unveiled a $618 billion COVID-19 relief counterproposal that is less than one-third the size of Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Among the subtractions, the bill would eliminate Biden’s proposal for $350 million in direct relief to state and local governments.
The proposal will likely be a non-starter for many Democrats who see such a deal as far too small to respond to the ongoing public health and economic crises.
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