$8.3B vs. bug
Senate sends corona-fighting bill to prez
The Senate overwhelmingly approved $8.3 billion in emergency spending Thursday to combat the worsening coronavirus outbreak, sending the measure to President Trump’s desk for final approval.
The upper chamber passed the sweeping aid package in a 96-1 vote, marking a rare display of bipartisanship. Fiscally conservative Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was alone in voting against the legislation, arguing the billions of dollars in new spending should have been stripped from existing State Department programs instead.
The House approved the same bill Wednesday in a 415-2 vote, meaning Trump now just needs to sign it before the aid is disbursed.
“In situations like this, I believe no expense should be spared to protect the American people, and in crafting this package none was,” said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (RAla.), who helped negotiate the measure. “It’s an aggressive plan, a vigorous plan that has received an overwhelmingly positive reaction.”
The $8.3 billion bill more than triples the initial $2.5 billion Trump said would be enough to tackle the rapidly spreading virus that has now killed 12 people in the U.S. and infected at least 200.
In New York alone, 22 people have been infected, officials said. Two of them are in New York City.
In another dramatic development, California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered a cruise ship about to dock in San Francisco on Thursday to stay offshore until passengers could be screened. Some 35 passengers on board had shown flu-like symptoms characteristic of the coronavirus, according to health officials.
Of the $8.3 billion, more than $2 billion is earmarked to help state and local governments respond to the virus and more than $3 billion will go toward research and development of vaccines.
About $300 million is put aside to help people cover the cost of any drugs or vaccines that will be developed, and $1.25 billion will be used to counteract coronavirus overseas.
Despite growing alarm over the virus, Trump went on Fox News Wednesday night and downplayed the severity of the situation, saying he had a “hunch” that the World Health Organization’s official fatality estimate was “false.” He also suggested people with coronavirus could still go to work because they’ll “get better.”
The president followed up Thursday morning by tweeting that, all things considered, 11 deaths in the U.S. aren’t that bad since there are more than 100,000 cases worldwide, with more than 3,000 deaths alone in China, where the virus originated.
“We are working very hard to keep these numbers as low as possible!” Trump tweeted.
Despite Trump’s factually dubious assertions, he is expected to sign the bipartisan aid package approved by Congress.
Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence, who’s leading Trump’s coronavirus task force, acknowledged the U.S. is running out of coronavirus tests.
“We don’t have enough tests today to meet what we anticipate will be the demand going forward,” Pence told reporters.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told lawmakers during a congressional briefing earlier in the day that the administration is shipping some 75,000 tests to locations across the country.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who played a major role in hashing out the aid package, took heart in the swift congressional action, but blasted Trump over his misinformation spree.
“While the president dithers and tells mistruths about the coronavirus outbreak, the House and Senate have come together in a bipartisan way,” Schumer said.