Hans Nichols
WASHINGTON DC: President Joe Biden seized on January’s anemic jobs report Friday to argue for his $1.9 trillion relief package, while also bracing the public for the long road to a full economic recovery and robust job growth.
January’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.3% in Trump’s last month in office, but the economy gained just 49,000 jobs.
“Only 6,000 private sector jobs been created,” Biden said. “At that rate it’s going to take 10 years before we get to full unemployment.”
“That’s not hyperbole, that’s a fact,” he added.
Biden met with House Democrats Friday to strategize on how to pass his relief plan, which many Republicans — and now former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers — have criticized for being too big.
Biden appeared to directly address those arguments, saying: “President Obama put me in charge of the Recovery Act, and it was hard as hell to get the votes for it to begin with. And then it was hard as hell to get even the number we got. But one thing we learned is, you know, we can’t do too much here. We can do too little.”
“It’s not just the macroeconomic impact on the economy and our ability to compete internationally,” he added. “It’s people’s lives. Real live people are hurting, and we can fix it.”
After 15 hours of debate, the Senate voted 51-50 early Friday morning to approve the budget resolution that will be used as a vehicle for Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief proposal — with Vice President Harris casting her first-ever tie-breaking vote.
Once the final resolution is passed by the House, lawmakers will get to work on writing the text of the package.
