Biden says the stimulus package being negotiated 'would be better' if it included a fresh wave of $1,200 payments - and suggests they are still in the mix

• President-elect Joe Biden said at an event on Friday that he believed the compromise relief package he supports would be improved with the inclusion of a new round of direct payments for Americans.
• "I think it would be better if it had the $1,200. I understand that may still be in play," Biden said.
• Progressives turned up their criticism of the latest bipartisan relief proposal that's being drafted by a centrist group of senators.

President-elect Joe Biden said during an economic event that the latest $908 billion stimulus package "would be better" if it included a new wave of direct payments for Americans.

"I think it would be better if it had the $1,200. I understand that may still be in play," Biden said.

He added: "The whole purpose of this is we've got to make sure people aren't thrown out of their apartments, lose their homes, are able to have unemployment insurance they can continue to feed their families on as we grow back the economy."

Biden said a CNN interview that aired Thursday evening he supported the package, while stressing he would seek to pass more federal aid after being sworn into office.

The president-elect's comments came as progressive Democrats ratcheted up their criticism on Friday about the coronavirus relief package taking shape in Congress. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, two prominent progressives, reiterated their call for another round of direct payments as a bipartisan group of moderate senators ironed out its provisions. Legislative text is expected early next week.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at her weekly press conference there was "momentum" gathering behind a deal. "We must get it done. We must get it done before we leave. We cannot leave without it," she said.

Sanders, though, indicated he would not vote for the package on Friday.

"Given the enormous economic desperation facing working families in this country today, I will not be able to support the recently announced Manchin-Romney COVID proposal unless it is significantly improved," Sanders said in a statement, referring to Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and GOP Sen. Mitt Romney, two architects of the bipartisan framework.

The Vermont senator assailed the plan's inclusion of a liability shield intended to guard companies against coronavirus-related lawsuits. The measure has long been opposed by many Democrats, though it's been a top priority for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Sanders also blasted the one-page blueprint's omission of relief payments.

"While the COVID crisis is the worst it has ever been, Manchin-Romney not only provides no direct payments, it does nothing to address the healthcare crisis and provides totally inadequate assistance for the most vulnerable," Sanders said in a tweet. "That's wrong morally and it's wrong economically."

Other progressives such as Ocasio-Cortez and Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar also stepped up their calls to include direct payments. Omar tweeted on Friday it would be "immoral" to pass another rescue package that excluded them.

There is some GOP support for direct payments - Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley indicated he wouldn't vote for a relief package that didn't include them. He tweeted on Friday that he would "gladly work" with Ocasio-Cortez on the matter.

"If we don't act now, the future will be very bleak"

The $908 billion compromise package was unveiled on Tuesday to kick-start relief negotiations after months of inaction in Congress. It drew the support of congressional Democratic leaders a day later.

Lawmakers are facing mounting pressure to approve another relief deal and pump more government cash into an economy that's showing signs of weakening. Virus cases and hospitalizations continue to surge nationwide as well.

The November jobs report released on Friday showed the economy recovered 245,000 jobs - its slowest pace yet in the recovery. Several emergency rescue measures such as an unemployment program and an eviction moratorium are also expiring in three weeks if Congress doesn't step in. About 12 million Americans are at risk of losing all of their jobless aid the day after Christmas.

Biden illustrated a worsening economic situation and said people were in dire need of federal assistance on Friday. "The folks out there aren't looking for a handout. They just need help," he said. "They're in trouble through no fault of their own. Nothing they did caused them to have hours cut, or lose their job, or drop out of the market."

He urged Democrats to back the compromise package. "I'm not alone in saying this situation is urgent - if we don't act now, the future will be very bleak," he said.

The latest pandemic aid package includes funding for $300 weekly federal unemployment benefits, small-business aid, and federal dollars for public-health systems and vaccines. Lawmakers are also scrambling to avert a government shutdown on December 11 and pass a dozen must-pass spending bills.

Democratic support of the compromise plan represents a significant reduction of the multitrillion-dollar package that congressional Democrats had pushed for the past six months. Democrats had long insisted on a large plan that included another round of direct payments. But they were ejected from the bipartisan framework, likely in an effort to keep its price tag below $1 trillion and draw more Republican support.

Another round of payments would cost about $300 billion.

Republicans, meanwhile, have pressed for less spending to support the economy. Earlier this week, McConnell circulated a new $550 billion virus aid proposal that also omitted direct payments and included no funding for federal unemployment benefits, both key Democratic priorities.

Instead, the bulk of the funds would be directed at small businesses and schools. Among the most contested provisions are the liability shield and funds for strapped state and local governments. Republicans staunchly oppose the latter, which was also left out of the McConnell proposal.