USA / Pichai, others back Biden's $1.9 tn bill in letter to US Cong: Report

Washington: 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 coronavirus relief package in a letter sent to Congress 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.

The letter, written by the Partnership for New York City, was addressed to Charles Ellis Schumer, the Senate majority leader; Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House; Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader; and Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader.

The letter calls for lawmakers to approve the relief package. The executives said they "urge immediate and large-scale federal legislation to address the health and economic crises brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic."

CNN first reported on the news.

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.

"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 cofounder and president of Lyft; Brian Roberts, the chairman and CEO of Comcast; Larry Fink, the chairman and CEO of BlackRock; and John Stankey, the CEO of AT&T, also signed the letter.

Executives from the following companies are among those that signed the letter:

Banking and investment: Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, Visa, S&P Global, MasterCard, and Blackstone

Technology: Google, Intel, IBM, Siemens, Zoom, DoorDash, and Lyft

Hospitality and retail: Loews Hotels & Co, LVMH, Etsy, and Saks Fifth Avenue

Airlines: American Airlines, United Airlines, and JetBlue Airways

Telecommunications: AT&T and Comcast

Real estate, insurance, and utility firms

Schwarzman was a longtime ally of President Donald Trump who defended Trump's lawsuits challenging his loss in the 2020 US election. In the aftermath of the January 6 Capitol riot, Schwarzman said he was "shocked and horrified" by the insurrection and called for a peaceful transition to Biden.

Biden has previously said the US needs new measures to deal with both the health and economic impacts of the pandemic.

"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 with 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 halted donations to Trump and other lawmakers who challenged the election's integrity.