White House seeks to block testing, tracing, CDC funding
Opposition to new relief bill angers GOP lawmakers
The Trump administration is trying to block billions of dollars for states to conduct testing and contact tracing in the upcoming coronavirus relief bill, people involved in the talks said Saturday.
The administration is also trying to block billions of dollars that GOP senators want to allocate for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and billions more for the Pentagon and State Department to address the pandemic at home and abroad, the people said.
The administration’s posture has angered some GOP senators, the officials said, and some lawmakers are trying to ensure the money stays in the bill.
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal confidential deliberations, cautioned that the talks were fluid and the numbers were in flux.
The negotiations center on a bill Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, R-KY., is preparing to unveil this coming week as part of the negotiations with Democrats on what will likely be the last major coronavirus relief bill before the November election.
The two parties are far apart on a number of contentious issues, such as unemployment insurance, but the conflict between Trump administration officials and Senate Republicans on money for testing and other priorities is creating a major complication even before bipartisan negotiations get underway. Some lawmakers are trying to reach a deal quickly, as enhanced unemployment benefits for millions of Americans are set to expire in less than two weeks.
One person involved in the talks said Senate Republicans were seeking to allocate $25 billion for states to conduct testing and contact tracing, but that certain administration officials want to zero out the testing and tracing money entirely. Some White House officials believe they have already approved billions of dollars in assistance for testing and that some of that money remains unspent.
Roughly 3.7 million Americans have already tested positive for coronavirus in the United States, according to a Washington Post analysis. Wait times for test results can vary by state, but in some places people have to wait more than a week to find out if they have tested positive.
The administration is also seeking to zero out $10 billion in new funding for the CDC, while slashing spending for the Pentagon and State Department related to foreign aid, the person said.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly questioned the value of conducting widespread coronavirus testing, arguing that if there were fewer tests conducted, the numbers of infections would be lower. Coronavirus infections and deaths are on the rise in many states.
A White House spokesman declined to comment.
At the same time they push cuts in some areas, administration officials are trying to use the spending bill to fund priorities that appear not directly related to the coronavirus — including a new FBI building, which has been a longtime priority for Trump, according to people involved.