WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate early on Friday passed a budget plan that would allow for passage of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package in coming weeks without Republican support. Vice President Kamala Harris broke a 50-50 tie by casting a vote in favor of the Democratic measure, sending it to the House of Representatives for final approval. Separate, more detailed legislation still would have to be crafted and passed to carry out Biden’s coronavirus-relief bill, which also could provide more time for negotiations with Republicans.
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CANBERRA (Reuters) – About 2 million Australians began their first full day of a strict coronavirus lockdown on Monday following the discovery of one case in the community in Perth, capital of Western Australia state, but no new cases have since been found. Authorities ordered a five-day lockdown of Perth after a security guard at a hotel used to quarantine people returning from overseas was found to have contracted the virus. The state government said 66 people have been deemed close contacts of the unidentified guard and none of those already tested were infected. “In total 13 close contacts have now tested negative and of those 11 high-risk contacts have been moved into hotel quarantine as an extra precaution,” Western Australia state Premier Mark McGowan told reporters in Perth. Tests on the rest of the close contacts were expected to be completed on Monday, McGowan said. Australia has managed to largely contain its novel coronavirus epidemic – limiting cases to nearly 29,000 and deaths to 909 – with the sort of decisive action seen in Perth, and tight border controls. A vaccine campaign is due to begin this month, which Prime Minister Scott Morrison said would cost at least A$6.3 billion ($4.8 billion). Australia had already pledged to spend A$4.4 billion to acquire enough doses for its 26 million population, but Morrison said his government had set aside a further A$1.9 billion to pay for the roll-out. “The strategy is backed by an initial allocation of around A$1.9 billion in new support for the vaccine roll-out. This is on top of more than $4.4 billion allocated for vaccines purchases,” Morrison said in a speech in Canberra. Classifying the inoculation programme as his “first priority”, Morrison said the economy must now begin to wean itself off government spending. Australia has pledged more than A$250 billion in stimulus, which has already begun to taper. But Morrison said there was a limit to the support government could afford. “We are not running a blank cheque budget,” Morrison said.
Biden snubs Republicans’ $600 billion COVID relief plan after Oval Office meeting: President says he will ‘not settle for a package that fails to meet the moment’ as Democrats try to muscle their $1.9trillion bill through Congress
President Joe Biden held a two-hour meeting with Senate Republicans
The two sides did not come together on a compromise COVID relief package
Biden warned afterward he was willing to pass the measure without GOP help
The White House said Biden would not ‘settle’ for less spending
GOP proposed $600 billion but Biden wants $1.9 trillion
Biden ‘will not settle for a package that fails to meet the moment,’ WH said
Republican Senator Susan Collins said afterward it was a ‘cordial’ meeting
‘It was a very good exchange of the views, I wouldn’t say that we came together on a package tonight,’ she said
Ahead of White House meeting, Dem leaders dropped plan to let Biden pass his $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan without any Republican support
Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer released their plan ahead of Biden’s meeting with Republican senators at the White House about their compromise proposal
Dem plan would allow legislation to pass with simple majority in Senate
It would also allow the Senate to pass the budget and COVID relief before Donald Trump’s impeachment trial begins next week
Republicans have protested, saying it goes against Biden’s call for unity
Joe Biden warned Senate Republicans he would not ‘settle’ for their smaller COVID proposal in a sign the president was willing to pass a relief package without their help. President Biden held a two-hour meeting with a group of 10 Republican senators in the Oval Office on Monday night but the two sides did not come together on a compromise measure. In a statement after the meeting, the White House indicated it was willing to move forward with a plan from Democratic congressional leaders to pass coronavirus relief without Republican support through a legislative process known as ‘reconciliation.’ And, the White House warned, Biden would not ‘settle’ for a measure that was not large enough – echoing talking points Democrats have pushed, saying more relief was needed for Americans suffered the economic fallout from the pandemic. The president ‘reiterated that while he is hopeful that the Rescue Plan can pass with bipartisan support, a reconciliation package is a path to achieve that end,’ White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. ‘The President also made clear that the American Rescue Plan was carefully designed to meet the stakes of this moment, and any changes in it cannot leave the nation short of its pressing needs.’ ‘He reiterated, however, that he will not slow down work on this urgent crisis response, and will not settle for a package that fails to meet the moment,’ she added. The 10 Republican senators proposed a compromise plan that is about one-third of what Biden wants to spend, clocking in at $600 billion for coronavirus relief. He wants a $1.9 trillion package. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who has taken the lead for Republicans on the COVID relief issue, called it a ‘productive cordial two-hour meeting’ with the president. But, she noted, there was no deal. ‘It was a very good exchange of the views. I wouldn’t say that we came together on a package tonight. No one expected that in a two-hour meeting, but what we did agree to do is to follow up and talk further at the staff level and amongst ourselves, and with the president and vice president on how we can continue to work together on this very important issue,’ she told reporters after it ended.
The lack of an announcement of the deal is an indication Biden doesn’t need one – and he knows it.
Shortly before his meeting with GOP senators began, Democratic Congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer gave Biden an out. They introduced their budget proposal, which included a way for the presidentto pass his $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan without any Republican support.
Pelosi and Schumer’s resolution contains a provision for a process called ‘reconciliation’ – a legislative procedure that allows them to prevent the use of the filibuster in the Senate and lets the legislation pass with a simply majority of 51 votes. With an even 50-50 split in the upper chamber and Vice President Kamala Harris the tie breaker,
Biden would be able to get his $1.9 trillion plan without any Republicans on board. Republicans have protested such a move, saying it goes against Biden’s call for unity. Allowing passage by a simple majority would also allow the Senate to deal with the federal budget and coronavirus relief before Donald Trump’s impeachment trial begins next week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose over 500 points on Tuesday after Pfizer Inc. announced the company plans to deliver 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to the United States by May, instead of an initial timeframe which suggested July as the end date. Also, investors are monitoring big companies to report their quarterly earnings later in the day. The Dow Jones rocketed 1.74% or 524 points at 10:50 am ET while the S&P 500 followed suit, gaining 1.51% at the same time. The Nasdaq 100 rose by 1.37% a minute later.
Pfizer Inc. will be able to supply the U.S. with 200 million Covid-19 vaccine doses by the end of May, two months sooner than previously expected, according to its top executive
Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said Tuesday that the drugmaker and its partner, BioNTech SE, will be able to deliver the doses to the U.S. well before an earlier July 31 deadline due to a change in the vaccine’s label that allows health-care providers to extract an additional dose from each vial. The six-dose-per-vial count became effective on Monday and applies to supply contracts going forward, according to a Pfizer representative. In the U.S., Pfizer and BioNTech will deliver 120 million doses in the first quarter, 20 million more than initially promised, Bourla said in an interview with Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait at the Year Ahead Summit, held virtually this year. Bourla added that Pfizer and BioNTech would get more doses to the European Union before the end of the second quarter. The companies’ vaccine regimen requires two doses to provide full protection from symptomatic cases of Covid-19.
As two new stains of the virus spread globally, Pfizer and BioNTech are also developing booster shots that can protect against various mutations.
“Every time a new variant comes up we should be able to test whether or not [our vaccine] is effective,” Bourla said. “Once we discover something that it is not as effective, we will very, very quickly be able to produce a booster dose that will be a small variation to the current vaccine.”
U.S. stocks rose Tuesday, signaling that major indexes may extend this week’s gains ahead of earnings from technology giants Amazon.com and Google parent Alphabet. The S&P 500 rose a day after the broad stocks gauge posted its biggest one-day advance since November. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 600 points, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index climbed roughly 200 points Stock markets have steadied globally this week after a choppy January, when extreme moves in some individual stocks, signs of a slowdown in the U.S. economy, and concerns about the pace of the vaccine rollout and new coronavirus variants weighed on share prices. Investor sentiment has been lifted by robust earnings reports from large-cap companies, as well as a decline in coronavirus cases in the U.S. and several other major economies. Investors will parse quarterly earnings from Amazon.com and Alphabet after markets close. Shares of giant tech companies have continued to power the broader market in 2021, pushing the Nasdaq Composite up 4% so far this year. “The bar for tech was actually quite high” coming into earnings season, said Hani Redha, a multiasset portfolio manager at PineBridge Investments. “Overall, for the sector, we are still seeing very strong earnings delivered.” Earnings for the last quarter of 2020 have been better than analysts had anticipated. Of the 189 companies on the S&P 500 index that had reported results by late Monday, 81% have beaten expectations, according to FactSet. Some of the stocks that have been most popular among online day-traders plunged in premarket trading. Shares of GameStop continued to slump, dropping 40% ahead of the opening bell in New York. Headphones-maker Koss and AMC Entertainment Holdings each declined over 25%. Express, Naked Brand and BlackBerry also retreated. Investors are closely following discussions around another round of coronavirus relief in Washington. A group of Senate Republicans on Monday outlined their roughly $618 billion offer, including a round of $1,000 direct checks for many adults. The proposal omits measures favored by many Democrats, such as aid for state and local governments and a plan to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. “There is still hope of arriving at something bipartisan,” said Mr. Redha. Passing a smaller bill than President Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion package along bipartisan lines could be positive for stocks by opening the way to more stimulus spending later in his term, Mr. Redha added.
LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) – The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine may be less able to protect against infection with a South African variant of the virus that has a worrying mutation, according to results of a British study released on Tuesday. The preliminary data, which have yet to be peer-reviewed and involve a small number of patients, also suggest a significant proportion of people aged over 80 may not be sufficiently protected against new variants of the virus until they have had two doses of the vaccine, researchers leading the study said. “Of particular concern … is the emergence of the E484K mutation (found in the South African variant), which so far has only been seen in a relatively small number of individuals,” said Ravi Gupta, a professor at Cambridge University’s Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease, who co-led the study.
“Our work suggests the vaccine is likely to be less effective when dealing with this mutation.”
Britain and many other countries have begun rolling out the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to try to stem the spread of the pandemic disease. While the highly effective vaccine is designed to be given in two doses around three weeks apart, Britain’s government has opted to extend that time gap to up to 12 weeks to try to swiftly reach as many people as possible with a first dose. The study released on Tuesday used blood samples from 26 people who had received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine three weeks previously to test whether the shot would protect against two variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus – the UK variant, known as B1.1.7., and the South African variant, which has the E484K mutation. When testing the blood serum samples, all but seven of the participants had levels of antibodies sufficiently high to neutralise the virus – that is, to protect against infection, the researchers said.
When the scientists added all the key mutations found in B1.1.7 variant, however, they found the efficacy of the vaccine was affected, with, on average, two-fold higher concentrations of antibody required to neutralise the virus.
When the E484K mutation was added, even greater levels of antibody were required for the virus to be neutralised – with an average of a 10-fold increase needed, the researchers said. Dami Collier, who co-led the work, said the findings suggest “a significant proportion of people aged over 80 may not have developed protective neutralising antibodies against infection three weeks after their first dose of the vaccine.” Clinical trial data released last week on two other COVID-19 vaccines – from Novavax and Johnson & Johnson – also found the South African coronavirus reduced their ability to protect against the disease. (Reporting by Kate Kelland, editing by Timothy Heritage)
Washington, DC – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer today announced they have filed a joint budget resolution for Fiscal Year 2021 that gives Congress an additional legislative tool to pass the urgently-needed bipartisan COVID relief legislation that enacts President Biden’s comprehensive American Rescue Plan which helps defeat the virus and provide workers and families the resources they need to survive the pandemic while the vaccine is distributed to every American.
Introduction of a joint budget resolution is the first step to potentially enacting a Budget Reconciliation bill, one legislative tool available to Congress to quickly pass bipartisan COVID relief legislation. The Resolution outlines the “reconciliation instructions” for each House and Senate committee, or how much funding can be spent in their jurisdiction. If both the House and Senate pass identical Budget Resolutions (which do not require a Presidential signature), both chambers can begin work on the Reconciliation bill that is signed by the President. According to an analysis of research from the Congressional Research Service, reconciliation bills has been passed by the Senate on a bipartisan basis 17 times in recent years, including to pass the bipartisan Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in 1997.
“Congress has a responsibility to quickly deliver immediate comprehensive relief to the American people hurting from COVID-19,” said Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer. “The cost of inaction is high and growing, and the time for decisive action is now. With this budget resolution, the Democratic Congress is paving the way for the landmark Biden-Harris coronavirus package that will crush the virus and deliver real relief to families and communities in need. We are hopeful that Republicans will work in a bipartisan manner to support assistance for their communities, but the American people cannot afford any more delays and the Congress must act to prevent more needless suffering.”
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Specifically, the Joint Budget Resolution Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer filed offers instructions to the relevant Congressional Committees to provide relief including but not limited to:
Immediate relief for individuals and families throughout 2021 including $1,400 per-person and per-child direct payments, an extension of Unemployment Insurance programs through September 2021 with a $400/week federal enhancement and $350 billion in critical state, local, Tribal and territorial fiscal relief. The resolution will also provide funds to greatly increase health care coverage to Americans that have lost it through no fault of their own during the pandemic.
Funding to help defeat the coronavirus including through support for vaccines, testing and public health programs. It also includes funding to help K-12 schools safely re-open and provides crucial support for the child care system.
Relief funds for the millions of Americans struggling to make rent and mortgage payments, as well as those experiencing homelessness. The resolution also includes funding for transit agencies deeply impacted by the pandemic and support for the use of the Defense Production Act to expand domestic production of supplies critical to beating the coronavirus.
Additional relief for our nation’s small businesses and hard-hit industries through increased funding for EIDL Advance grants, the creation of a dedicated grant relief program for restaurants, expanded PPP assistance for nonprofits and digital media services, more funds for Save Our Stages grants to independent live venues, independent movie theaters and cultural institutions and new community navigator technical assistance to help connect underserved communities with critical resources.
Funding for crucial investments in broadband and distance learning and relief for Amtrak and the aviation sector struggling with declining revenues and volumes due to COVID-19.
Funding for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund to ramp up the President’s national vaccination program and provide flexible, targeted assistance to state, local, Tribal, territorial and the District of Columbia governments, as well as those individuals hit hardest by the pandemic.
Support for hungry families through programs like SNAP, WIC and Pandemic-EBT. This also includes critical funding for the food supply chain and the Agriculture Department’s lending and financial assistance programs to support farmers across the country.
Health care and other support to meet the needs of veterans during the coronavirus pandemic. These funds will support vaccine distribution, expanded mental health care, enhanced telehealth capabilities, extended support for veterans who are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless, PPE and supplies for clinical employees, and improved supply chain management.
Critical funding for the Indian Health Service, Administration for Native Americans, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education and Native American housing programs to maintain essential health, education and social services and mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Native communities.
Funding to the Economic Development Administration and environmental justice grants to help low-income, minority communities who have been hardest hit by COVID.
Funding for critical programs to aid in the global response to and recovery from the pandemic. These instructions include significant funding for humanitarian assistance and Global Health programs.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has agreed to meet a group of 10 Republican senators who have proposed spending about one-third of the $1.9 trillion he is seeking in coronavirus aid, though congressional Democrats are poised to move ahead without Republican support. Sunday’s invitation to the White House came hours after the lawmakers sent Biden a letter urging him to negotiate rather than try to ram through his relief package solely on Democratic votes. The House and Senate are on track to vote as soon as this week on a budget resolution, which would lay the groundwork for passing an aid package under rules requiring only a simple majority vote in the closely divided Senate. The goal is for passage by March, when extra unemployment assistance and other pandemic aid expires. The meeting offered by Biden would amount to the most public involvement for the president in the negotiations for the next round of virus relief. Democratic and Republican lawmakers are far apart in their proposals for assistance. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday that Biden had spoken with the leader of the group, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. Though Biden is wanting “a full exchange of views,” Psaki reiterated that he remains in favor of moving forward with a far-reaching relief package. A meeting could come in a matter of days. “With the virus posing a grave threat to the country, and economic conditions grim for so many, the need for action is urgent, and the scale of what must be done is large,” Psaki said. In challenging Biden to fulfill his pledge of unity, the group said in its letter that its counterproposal will include $160 billion for vaccines, testing, treatment and personal protective equipment and call for more targeted relief than Biden’s plan to issue $1,400 stimulus checks for most Americans. Winning the support of 10 Republicans would be significant for Biden in the 50-50 Senate where Vice President Kamala Harris is the tie-breaker. If all Democrats were to back an eventual compromise bill, the legislation would reach the 60-vote threshold necessary to overcome potential blocking efforts and pass under regular Senate procedures. “In the spirit of bipartisanship and unity, we have developed a COVID-19 relief framework that builds on prior COVID assistance laws, all of which passed with bipartisan support,” the Republican senators wrote. “Our proposal reflects many of your stated priorities, and with your support, we believe that this plan could be approved quickly by Congress with bipartisan support.” The plea for Biden to give bipartisan negotiations more time comes as the president has shown signs of impatience as the more liberal wing of his party considers passing the relief package through a process known as budget reconciliation. That would allow the bill to advance with only the backing of his Democratic majority. The Republicans did not provide many details of their proposal. One of the signatories, Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, said that it would cost about $600 billion. “If you can’t find bipartisan compromise on COVID-19, I don’t know where you can find it,” said Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, who also signed the letter. But even as Biden extended the invitation to the Republican lawmakers, Psaki said that $1,400 relief checks, substantial funding for reopening schools, aid to small businesses and hurting families, and more “is badly needed.” “As leading economists have said, the danger now is not in doing too much: it is in doing too little,” Psaki said. “Americans of both parties are looking to their leaders to meet the moment.” Biden also spoke on Sunday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who are facing a growing push from the more liberal Democratic members to move forward with Biden’s legislation with or without Republican support. The other GOP senators invited to meet with Biden are Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Todd Young of Indiana, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Brian Deese, the top White House economic adviser who is leading the administration’s outreach to Congress, said earlier Sunday that administration officials were reviewing the letter. He did not immediately commit to a Biden meeting with the lawmakers. But Cedric Richmond, a senior Biden adviser, said the president “is very willing to meet with anyone to advance the agenda.” When asked about the senators’ plan, Richmond said, “This is about seriousness of purpose.” Deese indicated the White House could be open to negotiating on further limiting who would receive stimulus checks. Portman suggested the checks should go to individuals who make no more than $50,000 per year and families capped at $100,000 per year. Under the Biden plan, families with incomes up to $300,000 could receive some stimulus money. “That is certainly a place that we’re willing to sit down and think about, are there ways to make the entire package more effective?” Deese said. As a candidate, Biden predicted his decades in the Senate and his eight years as Barack Obama’s vice president gave him credibility as a deal-maker and would help him bring Republicans and Democrats to consensus on the most important matters facing the country. But less than two weeks into his presidency, Biden showed frustration with the pace of negotiations at a time when the economy exhibited further evidence of wear from the pandemic. Last week, 847,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits, a sign that layoffs remain high as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage. “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,” Biden said on Friday In the letter, the Republican lawmakers reminded Biden that in his inaugural address, he proclaimed that the challenges facing the nation require “the most elusive of things in a democracy: Unity.” Cassidy separately criticized the current Biden plan as “chock-full of handouts and payoffs to Democratic constituency groups.” “You want the patina of bipartisanship … so that’s not unity,” Cassidy said. Jared Bernstein, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said Biden remains willing to negotiate but that officials needed to see more details from Republicans. At the same time, Bernstein pressed the administration’s argument that doing too little to stimulate the economy could have enormous impact on the economy in the near- and long-term. “Look, the American people really couldn’t care less about budget process, whether it’s regular order, bipartisanship, whether it’s filibuster, whether it’s reconciliation,” Bernstein said. “They need relief, and they need it now.” Portman and Deese were on CNN’s “State of the Union,” and Deese also was interviewed on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Cassidy and Bernstein appeared on “Fox News Sunday” and Richmond was on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ten moderate Republican U.S. senators urged Democratic President Joe Biden on Sunday to significantly downsize his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package to win bipartisan support as Democrats in Congress prepared to push ahead with his plan this week.
A top White House economic adviser signaled willingness to discuss the ideas raised by Republican senators who floated a $600 billion alternative, but said the president was not willing to compromise on the need for a comprehensive bill to address the public health crisis and economic fallout.
“He is open to ideas, wherever they may come. … What he’s uncompromising about is the need to move with speed on a comprehensive approach here,” Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program. “A piecemeal approach … is not a recipe for success.” It was unclear whether the outreach by 10 of the 50 Republicans in the 100-seat chamber would shift plans by congressional Democrats to take up legislation in the coming days. Biden and fellow Democrats are seeking to make use of their control of the House of Representatives and Senate to move quickly on the president’s top goal of addressing the pandemic.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said his chamber would begin work on it as early as this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress would complete a preliminary step before the end of the week.
Congress enacted $4 trillion in COVID-19 relief last year.
Passage of the new relief legislation not only would impact Americans and businesses reeling during a pandemic that has killed about 440,000 people in the United States but also offers an early test of Biden’s promise to work to bridge the partisan divide in Washington. Biden took office on Jan. 20.
Biden’s proposal includes $160 billion for vaccines and testing, $170 billion for schools and universities, and funds to give certain Americans a $1,400 per-person stimulus check, among other provisions. Some Republicans have questioned the overall price tag, while others urged more targeted measures, particularly over the direct payments to individuals. In their letter to Biden, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney and seven other senators asked Biden for a meeting and said their compromise proposal could be quickly passed with bipartisan support, promising more details on Monday. They said their proposal sought more targeted assistance for families in need and additional funds for small businesses, while echoing Biden’s plan for more funding to boost vaccines and testing as well as support for schools and childcare centers. They also pointed to unspent money from previous COVID-19 relief bills. “Ours is about $600 billion. … We’re targeted to the needs of the American people,” Senator Bill Cassidy, one of the 10 senators, told “Fox News Sunday.” Deese said the White House was reviewing their letter but did not say whether Biden would meet with the group, which also included Republicans Shelley Moore Capito, Todd Young, Jerry Moran, Michael Rounds and Rob Portman. Senator Jon Tester, a Democrat from Montana, told CNN’s “State of the Union” program that the Republicans’ letter was “a positive sign that folks want to work together.” With the Senate split 50-50 and Vice President Kamala Harris wielding the tie-breaking vote, Democrats are considering using a parliamentary tool called “reconciliation” that would allow the chamber to approve the bill with a simple majority. Under Senate rules, legislation usually requires 60 votes for passage.
