By Ronald J. Hansen | Arizona Republic
Vice President Kamala Harris pitched the Biden administration’s COVID-19 aid plan on Thursday as a way to reduce deaths, get Arizona students back in school and reopen businesses.
In a virtual meeting with The Arizona Republic’s editorial board, Harris and two White House officials touted their $1.9 trillion plan as a way to return the nation to normalcy while providing near-term help as the coronavirus remains a deadly threat.
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President Joe Biden’s proposal seeks to replace the Trump administration’s approach of largely having states manage the new coronavirus crisis on their own, in part with a nationwide vaccination program and with extra cash aid to taxpayers and more help to small businesses.
The plan’s price tag, as well as some of its wide-ranging provisions, has created an uncertain political environment for the legislation. Republicans, for example, have cited concerns about the impact on the nation’s debt and urged a pause after a smaller aid plan passed Congress in the final days of former President Donald Trump’s administration.
