The urgent plan aims to address the deadly coronavirus outbreak, whose rapid spread is spooking financial markets and restricting international travel.
The White House budget office said the funds are for vaccines, treatment and protective equipment. The request was immediately slammed by Democrats as insufficient and came as coronavirus fears were credited with Monday’s 1,000-plus point drop in the Dow Jones industrial average and are increasingly seen as a potential political threat to President Trump.
The request was released Monday evening and came as key government accounts were running low. The Department of Health and Human Services had already tapped into an emergency infectious disease rapid response fund and was seeking to transfer more than $130 million from other department accounts to combat the virus but is pressing for more.
“Today, the administration is transmitting to Congress a $2.5-billion supplemental funding plan to accelerate vaccine development, support preparedness and response activities and to procure much needed equipment and supplies,” said White House budget office spokeswoman Rachel Semmel. “We are also freeing up existing resources and allowing for greater flexibilities for response activities.”The administration is requesting $1.
Senators returning to Washington after a weeklong recess will receive a classified briefing Tuesday morning on the government’s coronavirus response, a Senate aide said. A spokeswoman for Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby said the panel “will take their input into account as we continue to do our due diligence to determine what additional resources are necessary.”
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