Wrangling over virus relief persists despite high stakes
MIAMI (AP) — The desperate race to corral the coronavirus pandemic took on even greater urgency Monday as a burgeoning economic crisis collided with political turmoil. Even as the latest experimental vaccine appeared to show promise, politicians in Washington seemed far apart in finding a way to bring financial relief to Americans.
As the first federal relief package was poised to come to an end, members of Congress were trying to come to agreement on another package to ease the financial burden Americans have dealt with as businesses have endured repeated shutterings or pauses since the virus first appeared on the continent.
The political turmoil in the U.S. and in Europe was playing out as there appeared to be good news on the medical front as scientists involved in the development of at least one vaccine reported promising results in an early trial.
Even as Republicans were at odds with Democrats over how much money was enough, top Republican members of Congress also faced pushback from the White House. GOP leaders were expected to meet Monday with President Donald Trump as the White House panned some $25 billion in the GOP's plan that would be devoted to testing and tracing, said one Republican familiar with the discussions.
There remains a wide gulf between the GOP and Democratic packages, with Democrats passing in the House a $3 trillion package, while the Republican package came in at about $1 trillion.
“We have to end this virus,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Monday on MSNBC.
Pelosi said any attempt by the White House to block testing money “goes beyond ignorance.”
Pelosi’s bill, approved in May, included $75 billion for testing and tracing to try to get a handle on the virus spread, funneled $100 billion to schools to safely reopen and called for $1 trillion to be sent to...
