Some Senate Republicans are pushing for more money for Covid-19 tracking and contact testing, but the White House argues that there is still sufficient funds from the March stimulus bill, the source said.
Details of the bill are expected to be released next week, so any discussion at this time is only preliminary, and the amount of funding to propose is a moving target even among members of the Republican Party, according to a Republican Party source. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has kept the details of the bill so far.
“It would take a lot of effort to get to a deaf position,” said a Republican Party aide, noting that in recent days, the hope had been that the Trump administration would take the coronavirus more seriously in an effort to make it clear. public and the voters who were handling the crisis.
The Washington Post was the first to report the debate between the White House and the Republican senators.
The White House declined to comment to CNN on the matter. CNN has contacted the Office of Administration and Budget for comment.
Senate Republicans were trying to allocate $ 25 billion for states to test and trace contacts, but that certain administration officials want to completely reduce testing and tracking money, the source told CNN with direct knowledge. .
The administration is seeking to zero $ 10 billion in new funding for CDC, while cutting spending for the Pentagon and the State Department related to foreign aid, the source told CNN.
As of Saturday, nearly 3.7 million Americans have tested positive for Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University. Meanwhile, testing delays are increasing in the US, as CNN previously reported that results can now take an average of four to six days for the general population or in some states like Arizona for up to three weeks.
Trump has repeatedly argued about the value of widespread coronavirus testing, claiming that more tests create more cases. This occurs when the United States is seeing an increase in most states.
