Biden says risk in COVID-19 economic relief isn’t if it’s ‘too big,’ but ‘too small’

In an address at the White House on Friday, President Biden spoke about his proposed American Rescue Plan for coronavirus relief, saying that the country needs “an answer that meets the challenge of this crisis, not one that falls short."

Video Transcript

JOE BIDEN: The simple truth is, if we make these investments now with interest rates at historic lows we'll generate more growth, higher incomes, a stronger economy, and our nation's finances will be in a stronger position, as well. And the payoff won't just be in jobs but in our global competitiveness, as well, because we'll be regaining our economic strength faster.

So the way I see it, the biggest risk is not going too big, if we go-- if we go too small. We've been here before. When this nation hit the Great Recession that Barack and I inherited in 2009, I was asked to lead the effort on the Economic Recovery Act to get it passed. It was a big recovery package roughly $800 billion. I did everything I could to get it passed, including getting three Republicans to change their votes and vote for it.

But it wasn't enough. It wasn't quite big enough. It stemmed the crisis but the recovery could have been faster and even bigger. Today we need an answer that meets the challenge of this crisis, not one that falls short. And that's the issue facing the country right now.