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| - Top business executives on Wednesday threw their support behind US President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan, saying it is needed to help the economy emerge from the struggles of the pandemic. A letter signed by more than 150 CEOs from the Partnership for New York City said Biden's American Rescue Plan "provides a framework for coordinated public-private efforts to overcome Covid-19 and to move forward with a new era of inclusive growth." Signatories included Laurence Fink of BlackRock, James Gorman of Morgan Stanley and David Solomon of Goldman Sachs. "Previous federal relief measures have been essential, but more must be done to put the country on a trajectory for a strong, durable recovery," said the letter. A separate letter from the Business Roundtable, representing major US CEOs, also called for Congress to move swiftly on economic relief. "We write to support the swift enactment of additional Covid-19 rescue legislation to strengthen the nation's public health response and provide targeted assistance to struggling individuals and small businesses," the group said. "As Congress negotiates the legislation, we believe the package should prioritize measures to strengthen the public health response and address short-term, emergency needs." Biden earlier this month expressed optimism about support for his plan after meeting CEOs including Walmart's Doug McMillon and JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon. Biden's plan includes additional stimulus payments to households, new aid for restaurants and other small businesses, expanded unemployment benefits and additional funds for vaccine distribution. So far, congressional Republicans have criticized the plan as too costly and particularly scorned proposals to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour from $7.25 and provide $350 billion in funds for state and local governments. bur-rl/ft
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