WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden urged Senate Democrats to rally behind a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill and stood by his proposed $1,400 payments to individuals, even as some party moderates sought to dial back parts of the package. “He said we need to pass this bill and pass it soon.
That's what the American people sent us here to do, and we have to get America the help it needs," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters, describing a 20-minute conference call Biden had with Democratic senators Tuesday.
The president's cry for unity came as Democrats, with no votes to spare in a 50-50 Senate, sorted through lingering divisions over the emerging bill.