Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., on Sunday blasted President Joe Biden for maintaining just a “patina of bipartisanship” in new negotiations for COVID-19 relief.
In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Cassidy said Biden failed to reach out to centrist Senators before releasing a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package earlier in the month.
On Sunday, Cassidy was one of 10 GOP Senators who proposed an alternative $600 billion coronavirus relief package.
"We're targeted to the needs of the American people, treating our tax dollars as if they're our tax dollars not just money to spend," Cassidy said. "If you say you want bipartisanship ... and then you have a budget reconciliation which is chock-full of payouts to Democratic constituency groups ... you don't want bipartisanship, you want the patina of bipartisanship."
"The president's team did not reach out to anybody in our group, either Democrat or Republican when they fashioned their proposal," he added. "So if you want unity, if you want bipartisanship, you ought to start with a group that's shown it's willing to work together for a common solution. They did not."
The group sent a letter on Sunday.
"In the spirit of bipartisanship and unity, we have developed a COVID-19 relief framework that builds on prior COVID assistance laws, all of which passed with bipartisan support," the Senators wrote. "Our proposal reflects many of your stated priorities, and with your support, we believe that this plan could be approved quickly by Congress with bipartisan support."
Cassidy said direct coronavirus relief payments need to be more targeted.
"Above a certain income level, that money's not spent ... doesn't stimulate the economy," he said.
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