Romney Says Biden's $1.9 Trillion Covid Relief Plan Is 'Pretty Shocking'

White House economic adviser Brian Deese was asked Sunday by Republican and Democratic lawmakers for justification for the $1.9 trillion price tag of the administration’s Covid-19 relief plan.

“Part of what we’re asking for is more data -- where did you get the number?” said Senator Angus King, a Democratically-aligned Maine independent who participated in Deese’s call. King was referring to the potential cost of the package’s components, versus the total price-tag.

The discussion, scheduled to feature 16 Senate Democrats and Republicans, also included the leaders of a bipartisan group of House centrists. Participants characterized it as an initial outreach by the White House as President Joe Biden seeks what would be the second-largest emergency spending bill ever.

The call is the latest sign Biden faces challenges in enacting Covid economic stimulus, his top legislative priority. Moderate GOP Senator Susan Collins said after the call she’s planning to press for the bipartisan group to put forth a narrower plan.

There was support on the call from lawmakers on both sides for funding for distributing Covid-19 vaccines and for coronavirus testing and tracing, according to three aides familiar with the discussions. Republicans including GOP Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, who had expressed skepticism last week about the need for another big relief package, said they at the same time were open to looking at money for the vaccines.

One idea floated was to split off a package for vaccines and testing, though the White House officials on the call didn’t offer support for that, according to one aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Participants said Deese mainly listened to the lawmakers on the call, organized by Joe Manchin, a senator from West Virginia, thanking them for their input.

“We would like to be able to move a package” before the Senate takes up the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, King said. That would mean a bill by Feb. 8. King noted that the mid-March expiration of some aid included in the $900 billion relief bill passed last month serves as another potential deadline.

Another element of bipartisan discussion was how to better target a future round of direct payments to people who most need it.

“I’m going to suggest that our bipartisan, bicameral group get together and see if we could come up with a more targeted package that would address unmet needs that we are experiencing now,” said Collins, of Maine. “It seems premature to be considering a package of this size and scope,” she said of Biden’s $1.9 trillion proposal, reiterating previous concerns.

King said that while it’s notable that the administration is seeking bipartisan support for its plan, the option of going ahead just with a Democratic bill “I’m sure will be under intense discussion at the White House.”

Part of the roughly 75-minute discussion revolved around tallying up exactly how much of last month’s $900 billion bill has been spent so far, participants said.

Democrats have the option of passing some parts of a new bill using a special budget tool, known as reconciliation, that allows them to enact legislation with just a simple majority in the Senate.

Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, one of those scheduled to be on the call, earlier termed the proposed price-tag “shocking” on the heels of the December bill. On “Fox News Sunday,” Romney called for measures focused specifically on beating back the coronavirus as the U.S. incurs debt to pay for the package.

“It’s important that we don’t borrow trillions of dollars from the Chinese for things that may not be absolutely necessary,” Romney said in a separate interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

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