Joe Biden and Janet Yellen: Spend Big, Spend Now on Coronavirus Rescue Package

President Joe Biden met with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Friday to discuss the economy but promoted massive government spending to boost the economy during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We need to act now, and the benefits of acting now and acting big will far outweigh the cost in the long run,” Yellen said to reporters during the meeting with Biden in the Oval Office.

Biden promoted his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan as a way to boost the economy, warning that it was better to spend big than not enough.

“We have learned from past crises the risk is not doing too much; the risk is not doing enough, and this is the time to act now,” he said.

The president cited the advice from his own economic advisors and said that economic advisers to former Presidents Donald Trump and George W. Bush agreed.

“We need to make this investment so the economy can grow the remainder of this year and next year,” he said.

Despite Biden’s urgency to pass a plan quickly, White House officials have steered away from a smaller bipartisan bill that would pass quickly in Congress.

Democrats are already preparing to act without Republicans to build a massive budget reconciliation bill that would only need a simple Democrat majority to pass.

Later Friday, Biden spoke to reporters about the relief process as he left for a visit to Walter Reed hospital.

“I support passing COVID relief with support from Republicans if we can get it,” Biden said. “But the COVID relief has to pass. No ifs, ands or buts.”