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Bernie Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, insisted this Sunday that the Democratic Party – which won control of the Senate with the promise to immediately activate an aid package economic aid package for coronavirus – has to “act now” to pass the legislation, even if that means moving forward without the support of Republicans that President Joe Biden
“The issue is not bipartisanship,” Sanders said in an interview on the ABC program This Week . “The issue is, are we going to address the crisis and the pain and anxiety in this country ?” He asked.
Sanders has consistently repeated that he supports passing the bill through the special budget reconciliation rules , which would not require a Republican vote. The senator has also clarified that he is willing to work on a bipartisan bill but points out that the need is very urgent so that Democrats wait.
Bernie Sanders added that he is “absolutely certain” that Democrats will be able to pass his agenda of stimulus through reconciliation , which will require the 50 Democrats to vote yes. The Speaker of the Upper House, who is Vice President Kamala Harris, would have the tie-breaking vote to get the 51 of a simple majority. Some Democrats, such as Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, have shown reservations about making use of the aforementioned resource.
For their part, Republicans continue to strongly reject the plan. $ 1.9 trillion Biden stimulus package and have proposed smaller direct payments that reach fewer people to keep costs down.
