Top aides to President Joe Biden have begun talks with a group of moderate Senate Republicans and Democrats on a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package as Biden faces increasing headwinds in his effort to win bipartisan backing for the initial legislative effort of his presidency.Lawmakers on the right question the wisdom of racking up bigger deficits while those on the left are urging Biden not to spend too much time on bipartisanship when the pandemic is killing thousands of Americans each day and costing more jobs amid tightening restrictions in many communities.At least a dozen senators met for an hour and 15 minutes in a virtual call with White House National Economic Council director Brian Deese and other senior White House officials Sunday. Many hope to approve a relief package before former President Donald Trump's trial, which is set to begin in two weeks, overtakes Washington맥스카지노�s attention.Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine, called the opening talks a 맥스카지노�serious effort.맥스카지노�맥스카지노�There was not a hint of cynicism or lack of commitment to at least trying to work something out,맥스카지노� King said. 맥스카지노�If they were just trying to jam this through, I don맥스카지노�t think it would have interrupted the Packers game.맥스카지노�King told reporters that there was 맥스카지노�absolute consensus맥스카지노� among the group that the No. 1 priority was to speed up the distribution of vaccinations and expanding COVID-19 testing and tracing.The White House did not seem to budge on breaking up the package or reducing the overall price tag, even as it pushes for bipartisan support. There was also no discussion of pushing it through on a procedural move that could be done without Republicans, King said.One key Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, said afterward, 맥스카지노�It seems premature to be considering a package of this size and scope.맥스카지노�Collins said instead she would pull the bipartisan group together 맥스카지노�and see if we could come up with a more targeted package.맥스카지노� She said in a statement that a bill with additional funding for vaccine distribution "would be useful."Senators from both parties raised questions about the economic aid provisions, particularly making direct $1,400 payments to Americans more tailored to recipients based on need.Senators also wanted more data on how the White House reached the $1.9 trillion figure.Many of the senators are from a bipartisan group that struck the contours of the last COVID-19 deal approved late last year. They were joined on the call by the two leaders of the House맥스카지노�s Problem Solvers Caucus, Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Tom Reed, R-N.Y., who were also part of earlier discussions.Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., told The Associated Press that no red lines were drawn. But she added there was consensus among the call's participants 맥스카지노�that the more targeted the aid is the more effective it can be."Overall, 맥스카지노�it was a conversation and it was not about drawing lines in the sand," Shaheen said. 맥스카지노�It was about how can we work together to help the people of this country.맥스카지노�White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients and White House legislative affairs director Louisa Terrell also joined the call.Out of the gate, Biden has made clear that quickly passing another round of coronavirus relief is a top priority as he seeks to get the surging pandemic and the related economic crisis under control, while demonstrating he can break the gridlock that has ailed Congress for much of the last two presidencies.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Biden and his aides in their public comments have stressed that his plan is a starting point and that finding common ground on relief should be attainable considering the devastating impact the pandemic is exacting on Democratic and Republican states alike. With more than 412,000 dead and the economy again losing jobs, Biden has argued there is no time to lose.맥스카지노�We맥스카지노�re going to continue to push because we can맥스카지노�t wait,맥스카지노� said White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. 맥스카지노�Just because Washington has been gridlocked before doesn맥스카지노�t mean it needs to continue to be gridlockedCentral to Biden맥스카지노�s campaign pitch, beyond healing the wounds created by Trump맥스카지노�s presidency, was that he was a proven bipartisan dealmaker, one who would draw upon his decades in the Senate and deep relationships with Republicans to bridge partisan divides.Some Biden advisers watched with worry as the Senate, just days into the president맥스카지노�s term, was already in gridlock as to a power-sharing agreement, with Republican leader Mitch McConnell refusing to budge on a demand to keep the filibuster intact. If the Senate twists itself in knots over its very basics, some Democrats wondered, how could it reach a big deal?Additionally, some of Biden맥스카지노�s preferred methods to lobby and schmooze have been curtailed by the pandemic. Though his address book remains one of the best in Washington, it stands to be far more difficult for Biden 맥스카지노� at least for the foreseeable future 맥스카지노� to engage in the face-to-face politicking that he prefers.Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, ahead of the meeting, raised concerns again about the wisdom of the government engaging in massive deficit spending.맥스카지노�If we get beyond COVID, I believe that the economy is going to come roaring back,맥스카지노� Romney told 맥스카지노�Fox News Sunday.맥스카지노� 맥스카지노�And spending and borrowing trillions of dollars from the Chinese, among others, is not necessarily the best thing we can do to get our economy to be strong long-term.Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, said he didn맥스카지노�t have high hopes for negotiations leading to Republican support and suggested Democrats may need to use budget reconciliation to pass it with a simple majority. The procedural tool would allow Democrats to push the package to approval without the 60-vote threshold typically needed to advance legislation past a filibuster. Republicans used the same tool to pass tax cuts during the Trump administration.맥스카지노�What we cannot do is wait weeks and weeks and months and months to go forward,맥스카지노� Sanders said. 맥스카지노�We have got to act now. That is what the American people want. 맥스카지노�___Associated Press writer Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report.