White House requests $45.8 billion in emergency funding due to coronavirus
CNNCNN — The White House Office of Management and Budget submitted an emergency funding request to Congress late Tuesday for an additional $45.8 billion – a sweeping request for new funds and statutory authority across the federal government to address the growing coronavirus pandemic. These costs must be met with a legislative response to ensure full operational capacity.” The request comes on top of the $8.3 billion in emergency funding passed by Congress just two weeks ago and underscores just how dramatically financial demands at federal agencies have grown in a matter of days. “We are currently in active dialogue with the Congress on additional proposals that speak to these broader, vital issues.” The letter to Congress includes a detailed list of how the money would be allocated across the administration, identifying many areas of need that White House officials say must be funded to properly respond to the pandemic. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin earlier Tuesday confirmed the figure, saying that at the President’s request they’ve put a proposal on the table that would “inject a trillion dollars into the economy.” “It is a big number,” he said following the GOP weekly policy lunch Tuesday.