Dems to move forward on Biden's COVID relief plan

The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives will move next week on President Joe Biden's plan to deliver a fresh infusion of COVID-19 relief to Americans and businesses reeling from the pandemic, top Democrats said on Thursday.

This report produced by Freddie Joyner.

Starting next week, Congress will move forward with President Joe Biden’s plan to deliver a fresh infusion of COVID-19 relief to Americans and businesses reeling from the pandemic.

BIDEN: "The first thing I gotta do is get this COVID package passed" At least that's the plan laid out Thursday by top Democrats.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer: “... if our Republican colleagues decide to oppose this urgent and necessary legislation, we will have to move forward without them.

We have a responsibility to help the American people fast, particularly given these new economic numbers." Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi predicted that Congress would complete a key preliminary step before the end of next week.

“We're going to bring a budget resolution to the floor next week and then will send it over to the Senate.

Then if they change it, then we'll take it back and address it.

By the end of the week, we will be finished with the budget resolution, which will be about reconciliation if needed.

I hope we don't need it, but if needed, we will have it.” Reconciliation would allow Democrats to pass much of Biden's proposal by a simple majority in the Senate, without Republican support, with Vice President Kamala Harris wielding the 50-50 Senate's tie-breaking vote.

Biden has made ramping up the response to the COVID-19 pandemic - which has killed nearly 430,000 people in the United States - a major focus of his early days in office.

But Republicans and some Democrats have balked at the $1.9 trillion cost of his proposal, which is on top of $4 trillion in aid approved by Congress last year.

Senate misgivings over the size of Biden's proposal have stirred speculation that the White House could use a two-pronged strategy, starting with a bill small enough to attract Republican support that would then be followed by a larger reconciliation bill.

Senior White House officials moved quickly on Thursday to shoot down the idea of a split approach.

White House economic adviser Brian Deese posted on Twitter: "The needs of the American people aren't partial; we can't do this piecemeal."