Joe Biden: If Any Portion of Aid Bill Fails, ‘I Will Acknowledge It Failed, But It Will Not’

President Joe Biden said during an address Thursday evening that if his $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid bill fails, he will admit it, adding, “but it will not.”

Biden said that his coronavirus bill, the American Rescue Plan, would allegedly help Americans suffering from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden called the law a “historic piece of legislation” that would deliver relief to millions of Americans.

He emphasized that the legislation includes:

• $1,400 stimulus checks to Americans
• Extends unemployment benefits
• Lowers healthcare premiums for many Americans

Biden said he, along with Vice President Kamala Harris, his cabinet, and others, will travel the country to tell Americans how the American Rescue Plan “meets the moment.”

“If it fails at any point, I will acknowledge it failed, but it will not,” Biden said.

Republicans have criticized the American Rescue Plan for failing to direct much of its spending towards ending the coronavirus spending. Instead, the legislation spends roughly $350 billion on aid to state and local governments, which many Republicans have called a bailout of fiscally irresponsible states such as New York and California.

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said on the House floor Wednesday before the vote that the American Rescue Plan “showers money on special interests, but spends less than nine percent on actually defeating the virus.”

McCarthy said:

But it gives San Francisco $600 million, essentially wiping out 92 percent of their budget deficit. In both the House and Senate, the only bipartisan vote has been against it. And after 5 relief bills, it is on track to be the first passed by strictly party lines. Republicans have said that the bill before us today is costly, corrupt, and liberal. Now, even the Biden White House agrees: it is very liberal. They called it the ‘most progressive piece of legislation in history.’ So let’s be clear: This isn’t a rescue bill. It isn’t a relief bill. It’s a laundry list of leftwing priorities that predate the pandemic and do not meet the needs of American families.

House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) said that the bill contains “$1,400 checks” that would go to prisoners such as the Boston Bomber. He added that it would “further” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) “socialist agenda.”