House passes coronavirus spending bill 415 to 2


The House easily passed a bipartisan $8.3 billion emergency spending package to fight COVID-19 on Wednesday, not long after negotiators agreed on the bill's contents. The final count was 415-2.
Two Republican congressmen, Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Ken Buck (R-Colo.), were the holdouts, with Biggs arguing the package was "bloated" and went far beyond President Trump's "reasonable" $2.5 billion request.
The bill will now head to the Senate, where it is also expected to pass quickly and decisively, although Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has said he wants to include an amendment stipulating the money will be made available through cuts to foreign aid.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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.
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
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Shompole Wilderness Camp: reconnect with nature at this secluded retreat
The Week Recommends This luxurious family-run camp in southern Kenya has access to more than 350,000 acres of pristine savannah
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Liberation Day: will Keir Starmer surrender to Donald Trump's tariffs?
Today's Big Question After failing to secure exemptions for the UK, PM must decide whether to retaliate or not
By The Week UK Published
-
Cosy cabins for a country escape
The Week Recommends Slow down and take in the nature at these secluded retreats
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreads
Speed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015
Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozens
Speed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study finds
Speed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cows
Speed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Microplastics accumulating in human brains, study finds
Speed Read The amount of tiny plastic particles found in human brains increased dramatically from 2016 to 2024
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
FDA approves painkiller said to thwart addiction
Speed Read Suzetrigine, being sold as Journavx, is the first new pharmaceutical pain treatment approved by the FDA in 20 years
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published