The Biden administration is telling Congress that it needs an additional $30 billion to press ahead with the fight against COVID-19, officials said, Report informs referring to the Associated Press.
Two people familiar with the administration’s plan confirmed key details on Tuesday: $17.9 billion for vaccines and treatments, $4.9 billion for testing, $3 billion to cover coronavirus care for uninsured people, and $3.7 billion to prepare for future variants. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss deliberations between the administration and lawmakers over the supplemental funding.
According to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Congress has already approved $5.8 trillion to battle the pandemic in a series of major bills spanning the Trump and Biden administrations. That’s not counting actions by the Federal Reserve to help keep the economy going.
Humanitarian groups, along with dozens of Democratic lawmakers, have been pressing the Biden White House and key committee leaders in Congress to provide billions of dollars for global vaccination efforts. They argue that will help fend off another coronavirus variant that could race around the world with deadly consequences.
While vaccine doses are starting to become more plentiful, the infrastructure to put shots into arms remains inadequate in many poorer countries. It’s leading to vaccines being wasted, advocates say.