“It doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or a Republican”

In addition to meeting a bipartisan group of state and local politicians Friday to call for a $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package to be approved, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are also briefed by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellenwho will set out the economic impact of the Aid Act after attending the first meeting of the Group of Seven Rich Economies since the new government took office.

Biden’s proposed spending package, on top of the $ 4 trillion passed by his predecessor Donald Trump, will have important ramifications for the global economy which is slowly recovering – but very unevenly – after the worst downturn since the Great Depression in the 1930s last year.

The Oval Office meeting will attend Republican and Democratic elected officials whose states and cities have been hit by the coronavirus pandemic and its economic aftermath. Many have seen tax revenues fall and costs rise as they raced to get their citizens vaccinated.

The group includes four governors, including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, and five mayors, including Jeff Williams of Arlington, Texas, a Republican.

Williams, who practically met with Yellen last week, said his city was in dire need of federal aid included in Biden’s bailout plan for state and local governments. He said cities were crushed when Congress removed similar aid from a previous relief bill passed in December.

“We were crippled. We got no help,” Williams told Reuters. “Our property taxes have fallen and the costs have risen significantly. It doesn’t matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican, this is the right solution so that we can achieve economic growth much faster. “