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House swiftly passes bipartisan $8.3B coronavirus package

The bill includes about $7.7 billion in new discretionary spending to bolster vaccine development, research, equipment stockpiles and state and local health budgets, as government officials and health workers fight to contain the outbreak, which has claimed 11 lives in the U.S. and sickened more than 100 people in more than a dozen states.

Meanwhile, House and Senate leaders have stepped up their response to the outbreak with an onslaught of meetings — including a pair of briefings by Vice President Mike Pence at the Capitol on Wednesday — to coordinate the federal response.

Congress’ four most powerful leaders, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, also had a closed-door briefing Wednesday on the potential impact of the virus on U.S. Capitol operations.

Both Pelosi and McCarthy left the briefing confident that they would keep the Capitol open for business until further notice.

Under the agreement, more than $400 million would be shipped to state and local governments within 30 days after the bill is enacted, with each state receiving no less than $4 million.

The package would also authorize $490 million in mandatory spending by lifting constraints on Medicare’s payments for telehealth so beneficiaries can freely consult their doctors remotely, avoiding hospitals and physicians’ offices where they might risk exposure to the virus.

It would provide $3.1 billion to beef up medical supplies and supplement the Strategic National Stockpile, including $100 million for community health centers. About $826 million would go to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for the development of coronavirus vaccines, treatments and tests. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would get $2.2 billion, including a total of $950 million to support the response efforts of state and local health agencies.

Under the deal, $61 million would go to the FDA for vaccines and other efforts to counter the virus, plus keeping up with shortages in medical products and trying to boost U.S. manufacturing of those items. For aiding the global fight against the bug, congressional leaders laid out almost $1.3 billion for the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development, including raising the cap from $10 million to $100 million for emergency evacuations.

The Small Business Administration would receive $20 million to increase the number of loans given to businesses affected by the outbreak. The package also includes a provision requiring the Trump administration to replace $136 million that it recently shifted from various health accounts, including mental health and substance abuse programs to pad out its coronavirus reponse.

The agreement comes after several days of partisan bickering over vaccine affordability and other issues that had ensnared the bipartisan, bicameral talks. Negotiators ultimately agreed to include $300 million “to help ensure that, when a vaccine is developed, Americans can receive it regardless of their ability to pay,” according to a House Democratic aide.

Vaccine affordability has been one of the biggest holdups to a final package. Democrats had pressed for significant funding to purchase large amounts of coronavirus diagnostics, treatments and vaccines when they become available, which would then be made available to the public free of cost, according to a senior Democratic aide.

The aide claimed that Republicans tried to eliminate the “fair and reasonable price” federal procurement standard for the vaccines and treatments that will be developed and purchased with the emergency funds. “Fair and reasonable price” is a basic standard to prevent price gouging in federal contracts.

Republicans, however, argued they are trying to fight Democratic efforts to create a new set of price controls and that they are not asking for changes to the underlying procurement standards.

“There’s some things that we think would have discouraged pharmaceutical companies from making investments and participating — we want everybody at the table — and I think we found the right mix,” said Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the top Republican on the spending panel overseeing the Department of Health and Human Services.

“[We] reassured our friends on the other side, hey, we want to all make sure nobody profits unduly, but we want to make sure we get a product, and want to make sure that product’s available to all Americans.”

The package far exceeds the $1.25 billion in new funding requested by the Trump administration. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were alarmed by what they deemed as the president’s paltry request to fight the bug amid criticism that his administration has bungled its response and failed to keep the American people clued in about the potential severity of the outbreak.

Even though the multibillion-dollar infusion is expected to be signed into law quickly, many in Congress say they worry about the administration’s ability to coordinate response across all 50 states and territories to ensure enough test kits are available, that people who are infected are quickly isolated and that health workers are following protocol.

The half hour, back-to-back briefings on Wednesday frustrated some lawmakers, who complained that there was not nearly enough time to question Pence and other Trump administration health officials.

Yet while Democrats remain wary of the administration’s ability to manage the crisis, several said Pence provided as reassuring an update as they have received thus far. Regular briefings by Pence and his public health team are expected to take place in the coming days and weeks.

“Absolutely not,” House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) said when asked whether he had confidence in the administration’s response. “They’re just fooling around. It just reminds me so much of [Hurricane] Katrina.”

“It’s being jerry-built,” Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) said of the response plan. “I think we can legitimately say that they’re piecing it all together.”

Top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn and White House coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx also joined Pence at the briefings.

Pence’s biggest takeaway, according to Democrats, is that members should hold town halls, both in person and over the phone, to relay information about the virus and its spread.

“The vice president clearly wanted us to communicate to our constituents, and give out enough information as possible, as accurately as possible. What you want to avoid is panic,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said afterward.

Sarah Ferris, Jesse Naranjo, John Bresnahan, Sarah Owermohle and Heather Caygle contributed to this report.

Source: politico.com
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