Joe Biden, the 47th vice president of the United States, was the featured guest for the Tom Johnson Lectureship at the LBJ Presidential Library on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017. The conversation was moderated by Mark Updegrove, former director of the LBJ Library. 10/03/2017 LBJ Library photo by Jay Godwin
The Biden team has announced that they plan on spending trillions of dollars (in addition to the trillions already spent) on COVID-19 stimulus and recovery. The New York Times reports:
With millions still struggling, the initial stimulus package that Mr. Biden will unveil is expected to include money to complete $2,000 direct payments to individuals and aid to small businesses and local and state governments, Mr. Deese said. Others briefed on Mr. Biden’s thinking said he would also call for the first piece of legislation to include extending the duration of benefits for the long-term unemployed, which are set to expire in March for many workers, along with more help for renters.
And the president-elect is expected to call for an extension of supplemental federal benefits for unemployed workers. It is unclear whether Mr. Biden will call for an extension of the $300 weekly supplemental benefit currently in place or a return to the $600 per week benefit that was in effect for several months last year.
A congressional aide with knowledge of the plans said on Thursday that Mr. Biden would call for temporarily increasing the size of two tax credits — the earned income tax credit and child tax credit — in a manner that would effectively provide more cash from the government to low-income workers and families. Democrats in the House and Senate have pushed for expanding those benefits, which economists say could sharply reduce child poverty when many low-income parents have lost work and are turning to food banks for help.
Plans for the first package also include a significant increase in spending on vaccine deployment, testing and contact tracing, Mr. Deese said, and Mr. Biden will seek enough money to allow most schools to open, in an effort to increase labor force participation.
“We need to get the schools open,” Mr. Deese said, “so that parents, and particularly women, who are being disproportionately hurt in this economy, can get back to work.”
Transition team officials would not say on Wednesday how expensive Mr. Biden’s proposals were likely to be or whether he would announce a cost estimate on Thursday. Last week, Mr. Biden said he expected his full agenda would cost “trillions” of dollars.
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