Schumer moves ahead on virus aid, talks continue

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that senators will vote Tuesday on a first step toward eventually approving President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus recovery package on a fast-track with or without Republican support.

Schumer said Congress must take bold action toward "America's long-awaited come back." The procedural vote launches a lengthy budget procedure that would allow Democrats who have a slim majority to pass Biden's proposal on their own if Republicans object.

The swift action on next steps comes after Biden told Republican senators during a two-hour meeting he's unwilling to settle on an insufficient coronavirus aid package after they pitched their slimmed down $618 billion proposal that's a fraction of the $1.9 trillion the president is seeking.

No compromise was reached in the lengthy session Monday night, Biden's first with lawmakers at the White House. The president made it clear that he won't delay aid in hopes of winning GOP support.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that while there were areas of agreement, "the president also reiterated his view that Congress must respond boldly and urgently, and noted many areas which the Republican senators' proposal does not address."

She said, "He will not slow down work on this urgent crisis response, and will not settle for a package that fails to meet the moment."

The two sides are far apart, with the Republican group of 10 senators focused primarily on the health care crisis and smaller $1,000 direct aid to Americans, and Biden leading Democrats toward a more sweeping rescue package to shore up households, local governments and a partly shuttered economy.

The goal is to have Covid-19 relief approved by March, when extra unemployment assistance and other pandemic aid expires, testing the ability of the new administration and Congress to deliver, with political risks for all sides from failure.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine called the meeting a "frank and very useful" conversation, noting that the president also filled in some details on his proposal.

"All of us are concerned about struggling families, teetering small businesses and an overwhelmed health care system," said Collins, flanked by other senators outside the White House.

Republicans are tapping into bipartisan urgency to improve the nation's vaccine distribution and vastly expand virus testing with $160 billion in aid. That is similar to what Biden has proposed. But from there, the two plans drastically diverge.

The GOP's $1,000 direct payments would go to fewer households than the $1,400 Biden has proposed, and the Republicans offer only a fraction of what he wants to reopen schools.

They also would give nothing to states, money that Democrats argue is just as important, with $350 billion in Biden's plan to keep police, fire and other workers on the job.