Covid Spending Bill Hits Senate Snag on Amendment Dispute

(Bloomberg) -- A hard-fought $10 billion emergency Covid-19 compromise bill hit a last-minute snag in the Senate Tuesday as Republicans demanded a deal to propose amendments.

Republicans want to force a vote on the Biden administration's repeal of Title 42, a pandemic-related restriction on border crossings, a move likely to create headaches in the Democratic caucus. Other Republicans, including Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, said they have amendments they want considered as well.

Utah Senator Mitt Romney, the lead Republican negotiator on the pandemic funding, urged his caucus to vote against a procedural motion on the bill, essentially stalling it until the two parties can agree on the parameters for floor debate.

The procedural move failed to get the 60 votes needed, but lawmakers said the standoff could be resolved quickly.

Once there's an agreement on amendments “then I'll be all in favor of moving ahead, again, because the underlying bill, from what I can tell is quite broadly supported in the Republican caucus as well as in the Democratic caucus,” Romney told reporters.

Border Policy Showdown Teed Up for Vote on Covid Relief Deal

The White House has pushed Congress to act quickly on the Covid-19 funding bill, which is less than half of the $22.5 billion President Joe Biden initially requested.

“The bill is a start. It should pass immediately, but it's exactly that: just a start,” White House Covid-19 coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters Tuesday. “Congress must keep working to immediately provide additional funding for our remaining domestic needs so that we're prepared for whatever comes, and importantly, to act with urgency to fund our global Covid-19 response.”

Zients added that Title 42 “should remain independent of the urgently needed funding we talked about here today.”

The bill includes $10 billion for U.S. vaccines and treatments. Democrats had pushed for $5 billion to aid global Covid-19 efforts, but Republicans resisted and ultimately succeeded in scrapping that from the bill.