Why Democrats dropped Covid-19 relief from the appropriations bills

Republican demands for offsets didn’t sit well with some Democrats.

Congress is finally on track to pass full-year spending bills this week — though the legislation will have a notable omission: Funding for Covid-19 relief.

House Democrats on Wednesday decided to drop $15 billion dedicated to covering funding for Covid tests, vaccines, and new treatments from a $1.5 trillion appropriations package, following pushback from members of their own caucus over how it would be paid for.

Republicans’ demands that new coronavirus spending be offset resulted in a deal to repurpose $8 billion in unspent American Rescue Plan funds to cover a portion of the new Covid-19 relief.

Utilizing this money, however, meant depleting the coffers of some states that haven’t received some of their ARP funding, prompting outcry from Democratic members representing those places.

Because Democrats were unable to find a way to address both the demand for offsets and the concerns about draining state ARP funds, they’ve opted to take out the Covid-19 relief altogether and punt that fight until later.

It’s a move driven by the limited time that lawmakers have to approve appropriations legislation. The current short-term spending bill, or continuing resolution, funding the government runs out on March 11. That means Congress only has until then to pass full-year bills or another stopgap measure — otherwise the government will need to shut down.

On Wednesday, the House is attempting to vote both on the full-year bills as well as on another CR that will last until March 15, in order to ensure lawmakers have enough time to finalize the larger spending package. That vote also comes as Democrats try to wrap up key Russia-related bills before they leave town for a retreat in Philadelphia this week.

The decision to remove Covid-19 funding is a risk. If that funding is not ultimately approved, it could severely impede the United States’s response to a new variant, its ability to seek out additional treatments, and its resources for distributing vaccines internationally. Democrats emphasize, however, that they will return to this issue, while focusing on advancing the rest of the appropriations legislation — including $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine — this week.

What’s riding on the appropriations bills

In addition to the time constraints it faces, Congress is also trying to move the appropriations bills quickly because of the billions in Ukraine aid that they contain.

While Republicans and Democrats have disagreed on many key elements of the bills, both parties want to send money and supplies to Ukraine as soon as possible. And that now means getting appropriations passed without delay.

This aid, which is more than the $10 billion requested by the White House, is intended to provide humanitarian relief and military support, including funding for refugees, medical supplies, food, and weapons transfers. Such aid is separate from bipartisan trade legislation the House is considering, which would support President Joe Biden’s efforts to curb energy imports from Russia and require a review of Russia’s membership in the World Trade Organization.

The passage of full-year appropriations bills would be significant for several other reasons as well.

Congress has been using continuing resolutions to fund the federal government up until this point. That’s locked in spending for different agencies at Trump-era levels. By approving new appropriations legislation, Congress will be able to respond to the updated needs of federal agencies, including new funding for medical research and health programs for veterans. It will also be able to provide funding for new programs, including those established by the infrastructure bill last year.

As Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) noted last month, much of the spending allocated in the infrastructure bill has been held up because it has to be formally approved by Congress first via these appropriations bills. Once the bills are passed, millions in funding for roads and bridges, and other transportation programs, can be funneled out.

Beyond the larger expenditures that it’s expected to contain, the appropriations package also brings the return of earmarks, or the ability for lawmakers to set aside funds for specific projects in their state or district.

In the Senate, these earmarks are now called “congressionally directed spending” and can include requests for community centers, fire stations, and airport terminals. In the House, they are called “community project funding,” and similarly can include requests for regional water projects, local school programs, and workforce training.

What comes next

The House is still expected to vote on the appropriations legislation on Wednesday before Democrats leave for their planned retreat, and the Senate is set to take up the bill before the end of the week.

Before it can vote on the measure, however, the Senate will likely need to hold another vote on an amendment from a group of Republican senators who’ve threatened to block taking up the appropriations legislation under expedited conditions unless lawmakers consider defunding Biden’s vaccine mandates for federal employees. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mike Lee (R-UT) are among those leading this push, which has stymied funding votes twice before. Both previous votes on defunding the vaccine mandates failed.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have expressed confidence that lawmakers would be able to approve an appropriations compromise ahead of this week’s deadline.