Senate Democrats to seek $21 billion to fight COVID-19

WASHINGTON — Top Senate Democrats on Thursday are set to propose $21 billion in new emergency funds to combat the coronavirus and prepare for other emerging outbreaks, including potentially monkeypox, hoping to boost tests, treatments and vaccines in response to growing public health threats.

The new spending, expected to be released as part of a package of bills that fund the government for the next fiscal year, reflects a growing sense of fear in Washington that the country has failed to learn its lesson from the coronavirus pandemic and risks falling behind — particularly in the face of new crises.

Chiefly written by Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the legislation sets aside $16 billion for a key program at the Department of Health and Human Services. It calls on the agency to use that money on a range of fronts to fight the coronavirus, including tests, vaccines, medical supplies and research for existing and future strains. Democrats also proposed investing another $5 billion for supporting other countries in their fight against the pandemic.

In doing so, party lawmakers said the emergency proposal would give the government latitude to shift some of the new funds toward any novel public health challenges. That could include monkeypox, for which the United States currently lacks a robust-enough supply of vaccines and treatments.

The new push for funding arrives as public health experts and congressional Democrats are once again sounding urgent alarms, fearful the country is losing ground in the fight to keep both viruses in check. But past attempts to secure health spending, backed by the president, repeatedly have faltered as Republicans raise fiscal concerns — a dynamic that threatens the new funding push, as well.

With the coronavirus, the White House has warned for months it desperately needs new federal aid, especially to secure access to the next generation of vaccines, which the government hopes to roll out early this fall. But sustained GOP opposition has left the administration no choice but to begin rationing the funds that remain — dialing back research and manufacturing in the process.

“The need is urgent, and this emergency supplemental funding bill provides the necessary resources to prepare for the current and anticipated surge in cases this fall and winter, save lives, and support our efforts to stamp out this virus here and abroad,” Leahy said in a statement.