Congress reaches roughly $8 billion deal to combat coronavirus
WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers reached an agreement on funding a roughly $8 billion response to the coronavirus outbreak, racing to approve the spending as the number of people with the illness continued to grow.
The House is expected to pass the legislation later Wednesday, approving more than $3 billion for developing treatments for the disease and $2.2 billion for preventing its spread, among other measures. Under the legislation, which the Senate is expected to pass this week, more than $1 billion will go overseas. Also, $20 million will be made available to increase loans to U.S. small businesses.
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The agreement between top Republicans and Democrats caps less than two weeks of negotiations that began last week when the White House said it planned to spend roughly $2.5 billion on fighting the disease. Mr. Trump has said he would sign whatever package Congress approves.
Negotiations had slowed in recent days as lawmakers haggled over the possible price of a coronavirus vaccine being developed. Democrats had pushed to guarantee that the drug would be made available at an affordable price, while Republicans warned that price controls could slow development. The final deal includes $300 million for the government to purchase the vaccine and other therapeutics and make them available to the public.