WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are directly engaged in building support for a $1.9 trillion economic recovery plan in Congress, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday.
She said the president would meet with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other members of his economic team to assess the impact of the plan and the potential cost of delaying action, she said.
Psaki said the plan was a top priority for Biden, and the administration was reaching out to lawmakers, organized labor, business groups, as well as hundreds of mayors and local public health officials.
“The president and vice president are engaged directly with members, and have had a number of productive conversations that will pick up in the days ahead,” she said.
In addition to meetings between White House officials and members of Congress, staff members of the U.S. Treasury Department were meeting with relevant congressional committees, and Biden’s top economic adviser Brian Deese was meeting with lawmakers individually to discuss the package, she said.
A host of Biden officials were also briefing community leaders, civil rights groups and state and local officials, to build support for the rescue package, she added.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Alexandra Alper; writing by Andrea Shalal; editing by Chris Reese and Aurora Ellis)
