WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration foresees unnecessary deaths if lawmakers don’t approve billions of dollars more to brace for the pandemic’s next wave. Yet the push to provide the money is in limbo in Congress. It’s the latest victim of election-year gridlock that’s already stalled or killed a host of Democratic priorities. President Joe Biden’s request for funds for vaccines, testing and treatments has run into opposition from Republicans. And the GOP has complicated the election-year fight by fusing it with the politically precarious issue of immigration. If the issue isn’t resolved soon, the next best chance of handling it may not come until the fall.
Gridlock could delay COVID funds until fall — or longer
