President Joe Biden said Friday that there’s nothing that can be done to change the trajectory of the coronavirus pandemic for the “next several months.”
“If we fail to act, there will be a wave of evictions and foreclosures in the coming months as this pandemic rages on,” Biden said at a news conference. “Because there is nothing we can do to change the trajectory of the pandemic in the next several months.”
WATCH:
President Biden urges Congress to pass more COVID relief:
“There’s nothing we can do to change the trajectory of the pandemic in the next several months.” pic.twitter.com/BmogfKwwSg
— The Recount (@therecount) January 22, 2021
The president encouraged Congress to act and pass more coronavirus relief. Biden released a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan Jan. 14 that included $2,000 direct payments to American citizens, $1,400 more than the $600 in direct payments passed by former President Donald Trump in December. (RELATED: Biden Releases New Coronavirus Strategy — Here Are All The Executive Orders He Will Sign Thursday To Achieve His Goals)
Biden’s coronavirus relief plan would also mandate a $15 minimum wage, a measure met with resistance from many Republicans. It would also put in place an eviction moratorium that would last through September 2021, as previously reported.
The bill is about $1 trillion more expensive than the plan proposed by Republicans in late 2020 and is likely to receive pushback from lawmakers who believe it is too expensive.
Biden began his presidency by signing a series of executive orders and is expected to sign two more Friday. One will provide more families who typically rely on free school meals access to food stamps, and the other will mandate a federal $15 minimum wage and undo three of Trump’s previous orders that had blocked some worker protections.