Democrats scrap a $15.6 billion Covid response package meant to help fund a new Biden strategy

[Celerity]

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/09/world/covid-19-mandates-cases-vaccine/the-house-is-working-to-pass-a-sprawling-spending-bill-with-15-6-billion-in-emergency-covid-response-money



Democrats on Wednesday abruptly jettisoned a $15.6 billion package to fight Covid-19 from a sprawling federal spending bill that includes a huge infusion of aid for war-torn Ukraine and money to keep the government funded through September.

The decision to strip out the coronavirus money came amid disputes about its cost and was aimed at salvaging the $1.5 trillion funding measure before a Friday deadline to avoid a government shutdown. It cleared the way for expected House passage Wednesday night of the first major government spending legislation of the Biden presidency, allowing Democrats to fund their priorities, including climate resilience, public education and child care.

But the demise of the pandemic aid infuriated the White House and frustrated Democratic leaders, leaving the fate of President Biden’s new coronavirus strategy uncertain.

Administration officials have said they are in urgent need of funding for testing, therapeutics, vaccines and efforts to stop new variants. They had initially suggested they needed as much as $30 billion before requesting $22.5 billion, an amount that got whittled down in negotiations with Republicans, who resisted spending any new federal money on the pandemic.



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