Ten moderate Republican US senators urged President Joe Biden to significantly downsize his sweeping US$1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package to win bipartisan support as Democrats in Congress prepared to push ahead with his plan this week. A top White House economic adviser signalled willingness to discuss the ideas raised by Republican senators who floated a US$600 billion alternative but said the Democratic president was not willing to compromise on the need for a comprehensive bill to address the public health crisis and economic fallout. “He is open to ideas, wherever they may come. … What he’s uncompromising about is the need to move with speed on a comprehensive approach here,” Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, told NBC’s Meet the Press . “A piecemeal approach … is not a recipe for success.” It was unclear whether the outreach by 10 of the 50 Republicans in the 100-seat chamber would shift plans by congressional Democrats to take up legislation in the coming days. Biden and fellow Democrats were seeking to make use of their control of the House of Representatives and Senate to move quickly on the president’s top goal of addressing the pandemic. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said his chamber would begin work on it as early as this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress would complete a preliminary step before the end of the week. Coronavirus hammers US economy – 2020 was worst year since 1946 Congress enacted US$4 trillion in Covid-19 relief last year. Passage of the new relief legislation not only would impact Americans and businesses reeling during a pandemic that has killed about 440,000 people in the United States but also offers an early test of Biden’s promise to work to bridge the partisan divide in Washington. Biden, who took office January 20, has proposed US$160 billion for vaccines and testing, US$170 billion for schools and universities, and funds to give certain Americans a US$1,400 per-person stimulus cheque, among other provisions. Some Republicans have questioned the overall price tag, while others urged more targeted measures, particularly over the direct payments to individuals. In their letter to Biden, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney and seven other senators asked Biden for a meeting and said their compromise plan could be quickly passed with bipartisan support, promising more details on Monday. They said their bill included more targeted assistance for families in need and additional funds for small businesses, while echoing Biden’s US$160 billion for more funding to boost vaccines and testing. They also pointed to unspent money from previous Covid-19 relief bills. “We’re targeted to the needs of the American people,” Senator Bill Cassidy, one of the 10 senators, told Fox News Sunday . Executive orders: Joe Biden attempts to undo Donald Trump ‘damage’ with a pen Republicans also want a separate vote on raising the federal minimum wage – which Biden’s plan would boost from US$7.25 an hour to US$15. Deese said the White House was reviewing the letter from the Republicans but did not say whether Biden would meet with the group, which also included Republicans Shelley Moore Capito, Todd Young, Jerry Moran and Michael Rounds. Many Democrats say they have not forgotten the lesson of 2009, when the Obama administration, with Biden as vice-president, spent months trying to secure Republican support for a larger economic stimulus and to pass the Obamacare health plan, but ultimately had to pass it on strict partisan lines. Having learned that lesson, they say, they are no longer willing to wait too long – or make too many concessions – in a possibly futile quest for bipartisanship. With the Senate split 50-50 and Vice-President Kamala Harris wielding the tiebreaking vote, Democrats are considering using a parliamentary tool called “reconciliation” that would let the chamber approve the legislation with a simple majority. Under Senate rules, legislation usually requires 60 votes for passage. Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse