Here’s a scary thought: America’s ability to face the pandemic’s next phase may depend on a handful of senators.
entered their most urgent stage yet on Wednesday, as the two spearhead an effort to allocate $15.6 billion to fight the pandemic. The Democratic leader and Republican centrist convened a larger group on Wednesday afternoon to see if there is a real chance at a bipartisan bill before the April 9 congressional recess; the meeting broke without a deal but a vow to keep talking.
Senate Democrats insist that every day without action counts, as the country needs to gear up with more therapeutics, testing and vaccines. Schumer said Wednesday that the consequences of failure are “really serious, scary almost.” In remarks on Wednesday afternoon, President Joe Biden said the nation is “running a risk” if Congress doesn’t act quickly, warning testing capacity will be exhausted by the end of June and that vaccine and therapeutic supplies are also dwindling as the year drags on.
Republicans, however, doubt the money is as vital as the White House asserts. They’re demanding an accounting of all of the hundreds of billions of dollars in Covid aid distributed over the past 12 months before they allocate more cash. They say that could reveal not only where there’s ample money to fund the next phase of the pandemic fight, but also frivolous spending.Richard Shelby