U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says the battle against the novel coronavirus will not be cheap for local hospitals. He wants the federal government to chip in more money.
Schumer introduced an $8.5 billion emergency funding bill to help frontline health care workers fight the coronavirus. That’s about $6 billion more than the Trump administration requested last week.
Schumer says the funds will bolster health care infrastructure like laboratories, and pay for protective equipment and high speed tests.
“I am pushing a plan that will help our hospitals, our governments, our nursing homes, our CHC’s – community health centers – with the dollars they need to fight this virus.”
Schumer says local hospitals and governments have already spent hundreds of millions of dollars on preparation, and they need more money.
The House could vote on the emergency deal as early as this week. Schumer says the bill has bipartisan support, and that President Trump has indicated he’ll sign it.
