WASHINGTON (Washington Insider Magazine) – After a $10 billion bipartisan compromise faltered in the Senate before legislators went for break, the Biden office is ready to revive its drive for Covid-19 financing when Congress returns this week, according to a White House official.
Uninsured Americans are suddenly being forced to pay the cost for testing, treatments, and immunizations, and states are receiving less monoclonal antibodies to keep patients out of the hospitals, according to the official.
When Congress reconvenes, the White House plans to advocate for greater help to Ukraine. According to the person, the administration would focus on negotiating with Congress to acquire monies to keep relief going to the Ukrainian citizens while also continuing to safeguard Americans from Covid-19.
Senators Chuck Schumer of New York and Mitt Romney of Utah revealed earlier this month that they had reached an agreement to allocate $10 billion in Covid emergency funds.
$5 billion would be set up for treatments, with the remainder going for vaccines, including booster doses, and testing capacity, according to the deal. With one exception: money for worldwide operations to battle the pandemic, it makes up the majority of the White House’s proposal. Previous attempts by Congress to integrate the bill failed due to disputes about how the bill should be structured and funded.
Importantly, this legislation has dollar-for-dollar offsets and would not cost the American citizens a single extra dollar, according to Romney. The measure would be paid by reusing unspent funds from prior Covid relief programs, he added.
Covid money was originally requested by the White House as part of a $1.5 trillion federal budget plan enacted last month. However, it was removed in order for the cumulative package, which involved emergency funding for Ukraine, to receive enough Republican support to pass. According to NBC News statistics, the United States was recording 46,088 daily Covid cases as of Sunday, up 46.9% in the previous two weeks. The coronavirus strain BA.2 of the omicron variant remains the most common in the country.
