The next U.S phase of curbing Covid depends on the Senate negotiations

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Wed, 2022-03-30 20:31 — mike kraft

The next phase of Covid depends on the Senate Lawmakers disagree on how to fund more pandemic aid and how urgently additional cash is needed. POLITICO

... America’s ability to face the pandemic’s next phase may depend on a handful of senators.

The talks between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) 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.

Lawmakers already disagreed on how, exactly, to claw back cash from unused pots of money that Congress dispensed earlier in the pandemic, which they want to use to bankroll the new funding. But there’s also a more philosophical divide that is proving more complicated: The two parties don’t agree on how urgent it is to come up with more money during the current coronavirus lull. With those underlying problems, it’s a big question mark if Schumer and Romney can get the needed 10 Republican senators to sign on.

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.

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