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Joe Biden wants to set aside deficit concerns to invest in ailing U.S. economy
Jan. 9, 2021, 5:12 PM EST / Updated Jan. 9, 2021, 5:33 PM EST
By Sahil Kapur
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden said Friday that he favors setting aside concerns about the federal deficit in order to spend more money to boost the ailing American economy.
"Every major economist thinks we should be investing in deficit spending in order to generate economic growth," Biden told reporters Friday, citing low interest rates and limited Federal Reserve powers to fix the Covid-19 crisis.
As this city reels from the chaos of a deadly riot at the Capitol spurred by President Donald Trump, Biden said he'll lay out an economic relief package this year that will cost "in the trillions of dollars.” He said it will include emergency relief for those harmed by the pandemic as well as investments in infrastructure, health care and "a whole range of things that are going to generate good-paying jobs."
"If we don't act now things will get much worse and harder to get out of the hole later. So we have to invest now," Biden said. "There's a dire, dire need to act now."
Biden's remarks came two days after Democrats were projected to capture control of the Senate, giving them the power to set the agenda in both chambers. The comments indicate that he and his party will be less inclined than they were during the Obama administration to acquiesce to Republican demands to limit new spending because of the national debt.
The president-elect suggested he believes the $900 billion pandemic relief package passed by Congress last month would not be enough. His remarks were well-received by progressives who have been skeptical of his moderate and deficit-conscious instincts.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the runner-up in the 2020 Democratic primary and likely incoming chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, praised Biden's comments in a Saturday interview.
"The president-elect is exactly right that this is not the time for austerity politics," Sanders told NBC News. "We cannot maintain the austerity economics that have allowed the very rich to do phenomenally in this country while working people suffer."
Sanders is poised to oversee the budget reconciliation process, which is not subject to a filibuster. Democrats, who will seize control in the 50-50 Senate with the tie-breaking vote of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, will be able to approve policies of taxing and spending with a bare majority of votes.
www.nbcnews.com
Jan. 9, 2021, 5:12 PM EST / Updated Jan. 9, 2021, 5:33 PM EST
By Sahil Kapur
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden said Friday that he favors setting aside concerns about the federal deficit in order to spend more money to boost the ailing American economy.
"Every major economist thinks we should be investing in deficit spending in order to generate economic growth," Biden told reporters Friday, citing low interest rates and limited Federal Reserve powers to fix the Covid-19 crisis.
As this city reels from the chaos of a deadly riot at the Capitol spurred by President Donald Trump, Biden said he'll lay out an economic relief package this year that will cost "in the trillions of dollars.” He said it will include emergency relief for those harmed by the pandemic as well as investments in infrastructure, health care and "a whole range of things that are going to generate good-paying jobs."
"If we don't act now things will get much worse and harder to get out of the hole later. So we have to invest now," Biden said. "There's a dire, dire need to act now."
Biden's remarks came two days after Democrats were projected to capture control of the Senate, giving them the power to set the agenda in both chambers. The comments indicate that he and his party will be less inclined than they were during the Obama administration to acquiesce to Republican demands to limit new spending because of the national debt.
The president-elect suggested he believes the $900 billion pandemic relief package passed by Congress last month would not be enough. His remarks were well-received by progressives who have been skeptical of his moderate and deficit-conscious instincts.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the runner-up in the 2020 Democratic primary and likely incoming chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, praised Biden's comments in a Saturday interview.
"The president-elect is exactly right that this is not the time for austerity politics," Sanders told NBC News. "We cannot maintain the austerity economics that have allowed the very rich to do phenomenally in this country while working people suffer."
Sanders is poised to oversee the budget reconciliation process, which is not subject to a filibuster. Democrats, who will seize control in the 50-50 Senate with the tie-breaking vote of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, will be able to approve policies of taxing and spending with a bare majority of votes.
Joe Biden calls for setting aside deficit concerns to invest in ailing U.S. economy
"The president-elect is exactly right that this is not the time for austerity politics," Sen. Bernie Sanders told NBC News.
www.nbcnews.com
