The Biden administration is warning it might have to scrap critical Covid-19 programs unless Congress moves quickly to approve funding left out of the omnibus spending package
, officials say the nation must be prepared for further outbreaks.
‘What the president was asking for in the legislation was a good start,’ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said this week at the Democratic retreat in Philadelphia.As of mid-February, no money was left in the Department of Health and Human Services’ public-health and social-services emergency fund for healthcare providers, according to documents that the department shared with Congress and were viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
“Does the White House agree that states that are already flush with cash should be prioritized over spending more money on vaccines for kids and therapeutics?” asked a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell . The Covid-19 funding to states was provided through the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package passed in 2021. The funding was initially split in a way that states would get half in fiscal year 2021 and half in fiscal year 2022. The Treasury Department retained discretion to allocate more funding as needed, so some states were able to get all the money at once.
“My job is to fight for the people of Michigan. If New York and California should get their money, so should we,” said Rep. Debbie Dingell , who said the move could also undercut Democratic colleagues in tough races. “Forget me, think about some of these front-liners who were going to lose their money.”
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