$10 billion COVID aid package remains stalled in Senate as new wave looms
![Capitol building.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CS8WDwQLHS69WgKH2NwKFj-415-80.jpg)
A fresh round of COVID-19 aid — $10 billion, specifically — is locked in yet another tight Senate standoff as experts meanwhile warn of an impending new wave of infections, The Washington Post reports.
Guided by the White House's reports of dwindling cash, Democrats are aiming to boost "the availability of tests, therapeutics and vaccines nationwide," the Post writes. In recent weeks, the administration's been forced "to slow purchases of critical supplies while shuttering a program that had provided free testing to uninsured Americans" due to dried-up funding.
In holding up the aid agreement, Republicans are demanding Democrats permit a vote on amendments to add a proposal preserving migration restrictions at the nation's southern border. Barring any added legal complications, the Biden administration plans to lift a controversial public health order limiting migration at the border at the end of May, much to several Republicans' chagrin.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"It's very simple: If the White House goes to [Majority Leader Chuck Schumer] and says, 'We'd like to get a vote on this, let the Republicans and Democrats each have amendments,' it'll be voted on and passed," Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), head GOP negotiator for the deal, told the Post. "It's being held up for political purposes only."
But for the administration, "the clock is ticking," the Post writes.
"We are looking for every way to get a vote" on the package, said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). "This is an urgent matter."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
The lab-made meat that 'could kill the EU'
Under The Radar Concerned at 'unintended consequences for farming' some farmers are 'turning rabid' over the rise of cultured meat
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Magazine solutions - August 2, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - August 2, 2024
By The Week Staff Published
-
Magazine printables - August 2, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - August 2, 2024
By The Week Staff Published
-
Netanyahu makes controversial address
Speed Reads Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress denounced Gaza war protestors
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Biden tests positive for Covid in fresh blow to campaign
Speed Read The president said he would consider dropping out of the race if presented with a "medical condition"
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Menendez convicted of bribery, fraud, and extortion
Speed Read The New Jersey Democratic Senator was found guilty in a federal corruption trial
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Florida judge dismisses Trump documents case
Speed Read Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that special counsel Jack Smith was improperly appointed
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Hamas says military chief survived Israeli strike
Speed Read An Israeli bombing failed to hit its intended target, military commander Mohammed Deif, but killed at least 90 Palestinians
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
First Israeli report on Oct. 7 finds 'severe mistakes and errors' in IDF response
Speed Reads Israeli military admits failures in response to deadly Hamas attack that triggered Gaza war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published