- More than 150 execs from top US firms have said they support Biden’s stimulus package, CNN reported.
- Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman and Google CEO Sundar Pichai were among the execs who signed a letter to lawmakers.
- “Congress should act swiftly and on a bipartisan basis to authorize a stimulus and relief package,” the execs wrote.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
More than 150 executives from top US companies spanning a range of industries including finance, tech, and real estate have backed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package in a letter that will be sent to Congress, CNN reported Wednesday.
They include Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, who was a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, according to the letter, which was viewed by CNN.
The letter, written by the group of executives, will be sent to bipartisan leaders in Congress on Wednesday, the publication reported. It calls for lawmakers to approve the package.
Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan, the American Rescue Plan, includes proposals for additional $1,400 stimulus checks, bigger federal unemployment benefits, and expanded family and child benefits, as well as plans to tackle the pandemic through testing, vaccines, and support for reopening schools safely.
“Previous federal relief measures have been essential, but more must be done to put the country on a trajectory for a strong, durable recovery,” the executives wrote, per CNN.
“Congress should act swiftly and on a bipartisan basis to authorize a stimulus and relief package along the lines of the Biden-Harris administration’s proposed American Rescue Plan.”
John Zimmer, the co-founder and president of Lyft, Brian Roberts, the chairman and CEO of Comcast, and John Stankey, the CEO of AT&T, also signed the letter, CNN reported.
Executives from the following companies signed the letter, per CNN:
- Banking and investment: Goldman Sachs and Blackstone
- Technology: Google, Intel, IBM, and Lyft
- Hospitality: Loews Hotels & Co
- Airlines: American and United Airlines
- Telecommunications: AT&T and Comcast
- Real estate, insurance, and utility firms
Blackstone CEO Schwarzman was a longtime ally of former president Trump, and had previously defended Trump’s lawsuits challenging the election results. In the aftermath of the January 6 Capitol riots, he said he was “shocked and horrified” by the “insurrection” that followed Trump’s speech, and called for a peaceful transition to Biden.
Biden has previously said that the US needs new measures to deal with both the health and economic impacts of the pandemic at the same time.
“We can’t let one wait,” he told reporters earlier this month. “We can’t get everybody well and then move on the economy. We have to move quickly on both.”
The executives supported this stance in their letter.
“Strengthening the public health response to coronavirus is the first step toward economic restoration,” the executives wrote, per CNN.
Biden and the White House have been working with business leaders to gather support for his stimulus deal.
On February 10, Biden, Vice-president Kamala Harris, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Walmart, Gap, Lowe’s, and the Chamber of Commerce to discuss the stimulus deal and the push for a $15 federal minimum wage.
Biden’s administration has also spoken to representatives from the Business Roundtable, Ernst & Young, General Motors, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the Black Economic Alliance, a White House official told CNBC.
The role big businesses play in politics has come under scrutiny in the aftermath of the Capitol siege. Dozens of top US businesses cut ties with former president Donald Trump and the lawmakers who backed his baseless claims of election fraud.
