White House calls for $2.5bn urgent coronavirus funding

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York - JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/REX
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York - JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/REX

The White House has sent lawmakers an urgent budget request for $2.5billion to address the deadly coronavirus outbreak, whose rapid spread and threat to the global economy rocked financial markets.

The White House budget office said the funds are for vaccines, treatment, and protective equipment. The request could advance quickly through Congress and came as coronavirus fears were credited with Monday's 1,000-plus point drop in the Dow Jones Industrials and are increasingly seen as a potential political threat to Donald Trump.

The request was released on Monday evening and came as key government accounts were running low. The Department of Health and Human Services had already tapped into an emergency infectious disease rapid response fund and was seeking to transfer more than $130 million from other HHS accounts to combat the virus but is pressing for more.

"Today, the Administration is transmitting to Congress a $2.5 billion supplemental funding plan to accelerate vaccine development, support preparedness and response activities and to procure much needed equipment and supplies," said White House budget office spokeswoman Rachel Semmel.

"We are also freeing up existing resources and allowing for greater flexibilities for response activities."

Pandemic key terms
Pandemic key terms

Senators returning to Washington after a week's recess will receive a classified briefing on Tuesday morning on the government's coronavirus response, a Senate aide said.

"All of the warning lights are flashing bright red. We are staring down a potential pandemic and the administration has no plan," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who blasted a shortage of kits to test for the virus and Mr Trump's proposed budget cuts to health agencies like the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We have a crisis of coronavirus and President Trump has no plan, no urgency, no understanding of the facts or how to coordinate a response."

Mr Trump was a vocal critic of President Barack Obama's response to the 2014 Ebola scare, which barely touched the US but was seen as a factor in that year's midterm elections, which restored control of the Senate to Republicans.

Mr Trump took to Twitter to defend his record.

In the US, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi  says Mr Trump's request for $2.5 billion in supplemental funds to combat a coronavirus outbreak is "long overdue" and "completely inadequate" to the scale of the emergency.

"The House will swiftly advance a strong, strategic funding package that fully addresses the scale and seriousness of this public health crisis," Ms Pelosi said late on Monday, describing Mr Trump's funding request as "undersized".

The Trump administration is asking Congress for $2.5 billion to fight the fast-spreading coronavirus, including more than $1 billion for vaccines, the White House said earlier on Monday.