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The House of Representatives is gearing up for a second shot at passing more coronavirus relief aid that the White House says is necessary to continue to battle the pandemic.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told Democrats Friday “to be ready to consider a supplemental appropriation bill to fund our continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic” in early April.
“The House will be ready to act on this critical priority as soon as the Senate sends us a bill,” Hoyer wrote in a letter to Democrats.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.
(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
More coronavirus funding has been a source of contention in Congress.
DEMOCRATS FORCED TO DELAY VOTE ON $1.5T OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL, UKRAINE AID
Earlier this month, bipartisan congressional leaders reached a deal on $15.6 billion in new aid to prepare for the next variant and to step up vaccination and therapeutic capacity.
But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had to pull the COVID-19 aid package from the larger $1.5 trillion omnibus legislation because many Democrats were upset with the spending offsets that Republicans had requested that cut previously-approved coronavirus aid to certain states.
STATES POCKETED MILLIONS IN COVID-RELIEF CASH FOR PET PROJECTS
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The spending legislation needs 60 votes to pass the Senate, requiring GOP support.
Since the COVID-19 aid failed earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has been working with Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, on finding a pathway forward, but no deal has been announced.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., walks on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, March 15, 2022, in Washington.
(AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
“We are trying to get COVID relief,” Schumer said Tuesday. “I’m working with Sen. Romney and other Republicans in good faith to find some…
Source : foxnews
