President Biden touted his administration’s Covid relief proposal in remarks Wednesday, telling members of the House Democratic Caucus the House-passed American Rescue Plan “is good policy, and is good politics.”
He went on to call the bill the most “broadly popular” piece of legislation he’s seen in his career in government.
“I've served in the Congress for 36 years before becoming vice president for eight. We never had anything this urgent and this ambitious that was so widely embraced,” Biden told lawmakers in a virtual address from the White House South Court auditorium, citing favorable polling on the relief package.
“Americans are in lockstep in each of the major elements of the plan,” he added.
No Republicans joined Democrats in passing the bill through the House, and no Republican senators have announced their support for the package, which the Senate is slated to vote for later this week.
Still, Biden thanked Democrats for their support and urged them to stay unified in backing his administration’s plan for Covid relief, telling the members of Congress watching, “Staying unified as we complete this process of pass the American Rescue Plan won't just make a difference in our fight against COVID-19 and our efforts to rebuild the economy, but will also show the American people are capable of coming together for what matters most to them.”
“I know we're all making some small compromises, but I want to thank you I want to thank you for the work you've done. I want to thank you for the work we're gonna continue to do,” Biden said. “I know parts of this and everything else we seek to do are not easy, but people are gonna remember how we showed up in this moment, how we listen to them, to them, not to special interests, to them and how we took action.”