Biden, Senate Republicans spend 2 hours discussing dueling COVID-19 relief proposals


President Biden met with 10 Senate Republicans on Monday night to discuss coronavirus relief legislation, and while no deal was reached, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said they had "a very good exchange of views."
"I wouldn't say we came together on a package tonight. No one expected that in a two-hour meeting," Collins told reporters after leaving the Oval Office. "But what we did agree to do is 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."
Biden has proposed a $1.9 trillion relief package, and the group of Republican senators countered with a $618 billion plan. Their package matches Biden's $160 billion price tag to take care of COVID-19 vaccinations and increased testing, but calls for smaller direct aid payments to Americans and no money for state and local governments.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Earlier Monday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) began the process of advancing a budget bill that will allow Democrats to pass Biden's relief package with a simple majority vote in the Senate, so no Republican votes will be necessary. "Congress has a responsibility to quickly deliver immediate comprehensive relief to the American people hurting from COVID-19," the Democratic leaders said in a statement. "The cost of inaction is high and growing, and the time for decisive action is now."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Today's political cartoons - March 16, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - head games, skyfall, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 explosively funny cartoons about Musk's faulty spacecrafts
Cartoons Artists take on trading up, blowing up, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Russia's spies: skulduggery in Great Yarmouth
In the Spotlight 'Amateurish' spy ring in Norfolk seaside town exposes the decline of Russian intelligence
By The Week UK Published
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreads
Speed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015
Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozens
Speed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study finds
Speed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cows
Speed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Microplastics accumulating in human brains, study finds
Speed Read The amount of tiny plastic particles found in human brains increased dramatically from 2016 to 2024
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
FDA approves painkiller said to thwart addiction
Speed Read Suzetrigine, being sold as Journavx, is the first new pharmaceutical pain treatment approved by the FDA in 20 years
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Study finds possible alternative abortion pill
Speed Read An emergency contraception (morning-after) pill called Ella could be an alternative to mifepristone for abortions
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published