Biden to Dems: 'speak up and speak out' about COVID relief plan
Speaking virtually to the House Democratic Caucus Wednesday afternoon, Biden thanked his fellow Democrats for stepping up for Americans amid the COVID-19 pandemic and urged them to keep working to get the coronavirus relief plan to his desk for approval.
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/General/president-joe-biden-03-gty-llr-210303_1614816897108_hpMain.jpg)
In a knock to his close friend and the president he served under, Biden said not to repeat the misstep President Barack Obama made in 2009 when he “didn’t adequately explain” the benefits of the American Recovery Act in 2009 to dig the U.S. out of the Great Recession.
“The economists told us we literally saved America from a depression. But we didn't adequately explain what we had done," Biden said. "Barack was so modest he didn't want to take, as he said, 'a victory lap.' I kept saying, tell people what we did. He said, 'we don't have time. I’m not going to take a victory lap.' And we paid a price for it, ironically, for that humility.”
Biden also said a win for Democrats over this relief bill, will also help them down the road as they get ready to focus on immigration reform and infrastructure.
-ABC News' Justin Gomez