Biden and Gang of 10 Republicans Begin Search for Murky ‘sweet spot’ On Coronavirus Relief; CBO REPORT: US Economy Will Recover by Mid-2021 Without Biden Rescue

Biden and gang of 10 Republicans begin search for murky ‘sweet spot’ on coronavirus relief:

President Biden and 10 Senate Republicans will begin efforts to find a “sweet spot” on a coronavirus relief package, talks that will pit his claimed electoral mandate to work across the aisle against his instinct to enact a massive recovery plan.

Led by Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the group of 10 has proposed a streamlined coronavirus relief deal that comes in at $618 billion, or about one-third of the cost of the package Biden and Democrats want. But there are points of agreement and areas where Democrats have given ground before.

The Republican framework overlaps with Biden’s $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan” on coronavirus vaccine development and pandemic containment, including $160 billion for vaccination efforts. But the GOP alternative omits many of the Democrats’ most contentious asks, including a minimum wage increase to $15 an hour and funding for state and local governments.

“There is definitely a bipartisan sweet spot to be found here,” the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget’s Maya MacGuineas told the Washington Examiner on Monday. Biden “is right to want to move quickly, the Republicans are right to want something smaller and more targeted, and there is the opportunity to return to the critical component of governing, compromise, to quickly move this across the finish line.” —>READ MORE HERE

US economy will recover by mid-2021 without Biden rescue: Congressional Budget Office:

The US economy will bounce back to its pre-pandemic size by the middle of the year without any emergency stimulus, the US Congressional Budget Office projected Monday.

The report throws a monkey wrench into President Biden’s push to pass an enormous $1.9 trillion rescue plan ahead of a meeting with 10 Republican lawmakers at the White House on Monday evening after they presented their own more modest proposal.

The nonpartisan federal agency paints an optimistic forecast following a year-long fight with the coronavirus that has killed 441,000 Americans, put millions out of work, and shuttered large swaths of the US economy.

The office said gross domestic product would return to pre-pandemic levels by mid-2021 and will continue growing until 2026 as a vaccine reduces the number of new infections and the need for social distancing. —>READ MORE HERE

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