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<\/p>\nTreasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday said the U.S. could see full employment by next year if Congress passes President Joe Biden\u2019s proposed $1.9 trillion stimulus package, which many Republicans have dismissed as wasteful.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t provide additional support, the unemployment rate is going to stay elevated for years to come,\u201d Yellen said on CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union.\u201d \u201cIt would take until 2025 in order to get the unemployment rate down to 4% again. We would have a long, slow recovery like we did after the financial crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yellen cited two recent analyses by Moody\u2019s Analytics and the Brookings Institution, which both forecast the economy returning or nearly returning to pre-pandemic levels by next year, if Biden\u2019s plan is enacted.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWithout additional fiscal support, we project that real [gross domestic product] would remain below the pre-pandemic level for the next several years,\u201d the Brookings report said. \u201cMore broadly, millions of households will suffer as a result of waning fiscal support for the unemployed and households and businesses suffering financially.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is absolutely no reason why we should suffer through a long, slow recovery,\u201d Yellen said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey joined the chorus of Republicans opposing the current stimulus proposal,\u00a0declaring it too expensive and \u201cinappropriate\u201d in a separate interview with CNN on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe economy has come roaring back. The unemployment is less than half of what it was. Disposable income is at record high levels,\u201d Toomey said. \u201cIt\u2019s not an economy in collapse, like it was in March.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toomey suggested that he would consider relief for concentrated groups, such as those in the travel, entertainment and food industries. \u201cIf those folks have fallen through the cracks of the trillions of dollars that we\u2019ve already spent, that\u2019s been meant to help them, then let\u2019s have a conversation about how to help those folks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last week, several other Republicans met with Biden to propose a smaller stimulus package, though the president later indicated that he was not swayed by their arguments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t do too much here. We can do too little. We can do too little and sputter,\u201d he said on Friday.<\/p>\n
A blueprint of Biden\u2019s relief package, titled the American Rescue Plan, was approved by House Democrats on Friday \u2014 an unanimously opposed by Republicans \u2015 and is set to undergo revisions this week.<\/p>\n
Biden has said that he will insist that the next round of stimulus checks be no less than $1,400. However, who exactly will receive those checks remains up in the air.<\/p>\n