News & Media
Coronavirus April 24 Update: President to Sign $438 Billion Aid Bill, House Creates Coronavirus Oversight Panel, and Questions About a Vaccine’s Efficacy and Cost
Trump set to sign $483B bill to aid small businesses, medical providers
Roughly $483 billion in economic aid will be on its way to small businesses and medical providers after President Donald Trump signs the bill into law Friday.
The House cleared the bill (HR 266) on a 388-5 vote after four hours of debate, with Republicans Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ken Buck of Colorado, Jody B. Hice of Georgia, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky voting no. New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also voted against the bill, while Michigan independent Justin Amash voted present.
A pitched battle to expand the scope of the aid to help states and localities was spilling into the next round of talks even before the legislation reached the House floor. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he is hesitant to send a "blank check" to state and local governments.
The pressure is guaranteed to grow after another 4.4 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits Thursday, bringing the total to more than 26 million in just five weeks.
House creates coronavirus oversight panel while Capitol implements new precautions
Masked lawmakers descended on Washington on Thursday to deliberate and vote for the first time in nearly four weeks. When House members voted to create a new oversight body to monitor federal coronavirus expenditures, they did so in a Capitol transformed by public health measures in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The vast majority of members and staff wore masks in the chamber Thursday, at the urging of the attending physician.
“Use of a face covering, while voluntary, is recommended for Members and staff in any proceeding,” read a notice from the Office of the Attending Physician issued earlier in the week.
Many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle removed their masks to speak at the microphones, which sparked a controversy on the floor.
Oklahoma’s Tom Cole, the top Republican on the Rules Committee, praised Speaker Nancy Pelosi for pulling her cream-colored scarf down while she addressed the chamber early in the day’s debate, and Cole recommended that other members also remove their masks when speaking.
“I’m going to follow her example,” said Cole.
House Rules Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., responded by entering the attending physician’s guidance on masks into the record and telling his colleagues that masks are most useful in preventing viral spread when the wearer is speaking.
“People can do whatever they want to do, but I would say while we’re trying to show how fearless we are, we should be mindful of the people surrounding us,” said McGovern. “Until I’m advised otherwise, I am going to keep my mask on.”
Throughout the day, dozens of Republicans opted to forgo masks, including Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Louie Gohmert of Texas and GOP Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana, even though there were free surgical masks available just outside the chamber doors.
Read more on RollCall.com.
Questions on vaccine efficacy and costs
Once drug manufacturers have identified a vaccine for the coronavirus, regulators will have to decide when the drug is effective enough to administer, as well as how to pay for it, Sandhya Raman reports.
Clinical trials will determine efficacy, but effectiveness can only be measured once the general public is vaccinated. Given the urgency of the crisis, the efficacy standard might be lower as manufacturers and regulators hurry to greenlight the vaccine.
"It does mean that if you have a vaccine that has relatively less efficacy, you end up with a situation like we have with seasonal influenza, where you have only a portion of the population protected and you have to deal with the circulating virus," Peter Marks, director for the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration, said on a recent call with reporters.
Other concerns include how much a vaccine should cost and how it should be delivered. Democrats have pushed to include coverage for a future vaccine in the series of economic aid packages passed by Congress, and that will certainly be one of several flashpoints in the next round of negotiations.