The focus of the administration’s efforts to increase federal funding for testing, treatment programs, and the development of vaccines to combat the virus.
Washington has been discussing the issue of additional assistance in recent weeks. Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, confirmed that the administration seeks more money to meet future needs.
Psaki stated that while we have enough funds to handle the Omicron surge at the moment, the goal of the White House briefing was to make sure we are prepared to deal with the virus in the weeks ahead.
After Congress has already allocated record-setting amounts totaling trillions to boost the American economy, and to help beleaguered state governments and municipalities reeling from the lack of tax revenue due the COVID downturn, the new money would be available. The political appetite for federal funding is not known, despite the fact that states and cities have lifted COVID-related restrictions as well as the economy growing at an unprecedented pace.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the administration requested $18 billion for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, $5 billion to increase testing efforts, and $3 billion to pay providers for treating uninsured patients. The administration wants $4 billion to help prepare for future variants and research and development of vaccines.
People familiar with the meeting say that congressional staff and administration officials discussed new spending opportunities Tuesday during meetings.
CBS News was informed by a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services that the topic came up in regular discussions with congressional staff and lawmakers about funding for the pandemic. These resources will allow us to continue expanding the tools needed by the country to combat the virus, and move us towards a time when COVID-19 won’t disrupt our daily lives.
Legislators who oversee the appropriations process are already resisting the idea of adding COVID relief funding into the annual spending package.
According to Patrick Leahy (Vt. Democratic Senator), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday, “I’m not keen to add anything.” “It took several months of negotiations to get us where we are.”
Leahy stated that he would be open to any proposal from the administration but that it should “probably be a separate bill.”
Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader, stated earlier in the day that the administration hadn’t yet submitted a proposal, but acknowledged the need to provide more assistance related to pandemics.
Schumer said Tuesday that while they have not yet sent us a relief package, it was clear that we will have to do something.
Leahy, along with other Senate and House negotiators, are hoping to finalize a spending package before March 11, when the current short term spending plan expires. This would fund the federal government until September’s end. This agreement requires bipartisan support and would mark the beginning of the Biden presidency as well as unified Democratic congressional control. Democrats want to finish a spending package before midterm elections begin in earnest, as polls continue showing that they will lose control of at most one chamber.
According to a source familiar with ongoing negotiations, there may be some appetite from GOP spending negotiators for a White House request that is focused on unanticipated new needs. Republican negotiators argue that federal funds left over from relief packages, which were passed last year and under the Trump administration, are not being used. Bipartisan concerns are expressed about the impact of record-high inflation on the final agreement.
