Joe Biden speaks with supporters in February 2020 in Henderson, Nevada. (Provided photo — Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons)

PLATTSBURGH — Reactions from the North Country’s federal representatives to President-elect Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan fell along party lines.

U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., applauded the proposal, while U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, posited the package was fiscally irresponsible.

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“Path to recovery”

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Gillibrand said in a statement that, while every aspect of the plan is critical, it contains several of her key priorities. Those include emergency paid leave, a public health jobs program similar to her Health Force proposal and direct funding for state and local governments.

She called paid leave “one of the single most impactful policies we can enact to help working families survive the public health and economic crisis,” arguing it would make it so no one has to choose between a paycheck and their family’s health.

Gillibrand said the public health jobs program would help create jobs in the hardest-hit communities by deploying 100,000 public health workers to aid in vaccine outreach and contact tracing.

And direct aid to state and local governments, she continued, will ensure vital services are provided by firefighters, nurses and teachers.

“The American Rescue Plan demonstrates that President-elect Biden’s administration understands the urgency of this crisis,” Gillibrand said. “I am looking forward to helping pass the American Rescue Plan to deliver much-needed relief to the American people and to put our country on the path to recovery.”

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Making it partisan

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Stefanik expressed pride in delivering prior COVID-19 relief packages for the North Country in the face of what she called “Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi’s disgraceful obstruction that lasted more than eight months.

“Unfortunately, it appears President-Elect Biden is following Speaker Pelosi’s lead to turn COVID-relief into a partisan issue with his absurd $1.9 trillion dollar liberal wish list,” she said, without naming specifics.

“This fiscally irresponsible package includes demands that will absolutely devastate small businesses, slow down the economic recovery and hurt Americans’ ability to get back to work.”

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Partner in White House

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In a joint statement with Pelosi, Schumer said American families face a combination of health and economic crises — noting COVID-19, racial inequality and climate change — and that the emergency relief framework announced in the Biden-Harris administration’s plan was the right approach.

“It shows that Democrats will finally have a partner at the White House that understands the need to take swift action to address the needs of struggling communities,” the two Democratic leaders said.

“We will get right to work to turn President-elect Biden’s vision into legislation that will pass both chambers and be signed into law.”

Schumer and Pelosi were pleased with how the package included provisions congressional Democrats have been fighting for, including increasing direct payments to $2,000, supporting vaccine distribution and testing, additional aid for small businesses and extended unemployment benefits.

“We echo the President-elect’s call for bipartisan action on his proposal and hope that our Republican colleagues will work with us to quickly enact it.”