President Joe Biden sat down and talked stimulus proposal and coronavirus relief with some of the country’s top CEOs. According to CNBC, Biden met with the bosses of companies like JPMorgan, Walmart, and GAP. Tom Donohue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was part of the conversation as well. Regarding the purpose of the meeting, Biden said that the group would speak about a number of important issues, including his plan to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also was reported to be part of the meeting, which the White House stated would focus on the country’s “critical need” for a stimulus package that helps Americans financially, as well as doing more to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Ahead of the meeting, Biden stated that it would place an emphasis on “the state of the economy” and “our recovery package.” He added, “We’re going to talk a little bit — God willing — about infrastructure down the road and also about the minimum wage.”
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SOURCE — Biden is said to have spoken to the CEOs of JPMorgan, Gap, Walmart and Lowe’s about Covid, but also discussed was where we go from here by the way of:
* vaccine distribution
— Sonali Basak (@sonalibasak) February 9, 2021
* American competitiveness
* jobs
* immigration
* health care
* inequities facing minorities
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon spoke out following the 90-minute meeting and expressed his gratitude for an opportunity to work with lawmakers on addressing many of the most pressing issues that the nation is facing these days. “We had a constructive and detailed conversation that covered a lot of ground – the urgent struggles of so many Americans, a path to a sustainable and equitable economic recovery, and the future of American competitiveness,” Dimon said, per Bloomberg. “I appreciated the opportunity to discuss these serious issues today, and look forward to working with Republicans and Democrats to build an economy that is stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive.”
Gap spokeswoman Debbie Felix said that Gap Inc. CEO Sonia Syngal “emphasized a shared and urgent concern for the ways Covid has disproportionately impacted select communities, as more than half of U.S. jobs lost during Covid were held by women — the majority of whom are Black and Latinx.” Ahead of the meeting, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki rejected the notion that Biden would ask the CEOs to openly support his nearly $2 trillion COVID-19 relief plan. Rather, this was intended to be a chance for Biden to lay out some details of his proposal to get some feedback.
