Menendez Statement Following White House Meeting with President Biden to Discuss COVID Relief

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) released the following statement after attending today’s White House meeting with President Biden and Senate Democratic leaders to discuss the urgent need to provide pandemic relief to the American people:

“Today at the White House, President Biden made clear he expects the Senate to act boldly and quickly to pass a COVID relief bill capable of ending this pandemic and delivering relief to the families, businesses, and communities hit hardest by it.

“The GOP’s opening proposal is not going to meet this moment. When faced with a once-in-a-century pandemic and the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, Democrats will do what needs to be done, and while we welcome Republican ideas as long as they are taking bold action.

“We remember all too well what happened last time a Democratic President took office amid an economy in freefall. We bent over backwards to please Republicans by dialing back our stimulus and in the end, the American people paid the price in the form of a slow, drawn-out recovery that left many Americans behind.

“We cannot and must not let that happen this time. We may not get a lot of Republican votes, but we will send checks to struggling families, help the jobless, and fight hunger in red and blue states alike. We will create the kind of national vaccination program the previous Administration should have done but didn’t. We will help local governments and school districts keep essential workers, teachers, firefighters, police officers, and public health workers on the job. And according to economists, we will save and create millions more jobs than what the Republicans have proposed.

“Likewise, we will reengage with our partners and allies to stamp out COVID-19 in every corner of the world, because our national security and the health of the American people depend on it.

“Time is of the essence.  President Biden understands that the American people are growing weary of this fight, which has brought our country so much pain, death, and disruption. That is precisely why Congress must be bold and pass the American Rescue Plan without delay.”