WASHINGTON – Leaders from the Democrat-controlled House and the GOP-led Senate have come A compromise deal on Wednesday that will provide about $ 8 billion to help stem the spread of the coronavirus in the United States and help treat people who fall ill.
The number is more than triple the amount originally requested by President Donald Trump last month.
The package includes more than $ 3 billion for research and development of vaccines and $ 2.2 billion for prevention, preparedness and response. It also allocates $ 1 billion for state and local government responses, about half of which would go to specific cities. Each state would receive no less than $ 4 million.
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The funding package, if approved, would amount to one of the biggest packages that Congress has made to tackle a global health crisis.
The $ 8.3 billion exceeds by more than $ 2 billion what Congress approved to fight avian flu in the early 2000s and more than $ 500,000 what it approved in 2009 during the H1N1 virus epidemic. It is also higher than the 5.4 billion dollars allocated to the Ebola crisis.
The spending package also includes an important caveat that Democrats and Republicans have been debating for days: providing more than $ 300 million to ensure that every time a vaccine is developed, people can get it even if they can’t pay it.
“The people of the United States are counting on our government for a fully funded, coordinated and comprehensive whole-of-government response to the coronavirus,” said Credit House President Nita Lowey. “The House of Democrats’ emergency supplement is solid, completely new funding and strong transparency and accountability measures to fully fight the virus and protect Americans from this growing public health emergency. We must quickly adopt this legislation – lives are at stake. “
The House will vote on the spending package Wednesday afternoon. He will have to pass the Senate and the Senate before being sent to the Trump office. Much of the measure has bipartisan support, but a few issues, such as keeping costs low for treatment and a possible vaccine, have divided Democrats and Republicans.
“It should not be about politics; it is about doing our job to protect the American people from a potential pandemic,” said Senator Richard Shelby, Speaker of the Senate. “We have worked together to develop an aggressive and comprehensive response that provides the resources that experts say they need to fight this crisis.”
$ 8.3 billion financing will replace the $ 2.5 billion that the White House asked Congress for last month, which the two sides agreed was not enough to fight the fast-spreading virus that has killed at least nine people in the United States .
In its request, the White House told congressional leaders that it needed $ 1.25 billion in funding from the Department of Homeland Security and hoped to redirect other funds, including $ 535 million approved for the Ebola crisis. in 2015, bringing the amount to $ 2.5 billion.
The president was criticized for his initial response to the epidemic when he appeared to contradict health officials in his own administration over the extent of the virus. At a rally last week, Trump described criticism of opponents of his administration’s response as a “hoax.”
All US deaths from coronavirus originate from Washington State. Washington accounts for 27 of the 118 cases reported in the United States, and state officials said 231 people were under public health surveillance.
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