White House readying emergency coronavirus budget request
February 24, 2020 1:42PM AKST
WASHINGTON – MAY 31: The exterior view of the south side of the White House is seen May 31, 2005 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House is readying an urgent budget request to address the deadly coronavirus outbreak whose rapid spread is spooking financial markets and restricting international travel. That’s according to a senior administration official who confirmed Monday that the emergency request is still being developed and is likely to come this week. The Department of Health and Human Services has already tapped into an emergency infectious disease rapid response fund and is transferring more than $130 million from other HHS accounts to combat the virus.
