Democrats forced to put COVID on hold in omnibus bill

Democrat leaders are furious that the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package just passed in the House does not include COVID-19 funding, which effectively puts the COVID-19 pandemic on hold. 

Democrats originally tried to push through $15.6 billion for COVID-19, but Republicans said that the only way they would support that is if the government offsets the funds by clawing back unused COVID-19 funds that were previously allocated to states. 

This would primarily affect Democratic states. 

Instead, Democrats were forced to scrap COVID-19 funding entirely from the omnibus bill but will introduce a standalone COVID package next week. It is unclear if that bill will pass. 

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi penned a letter blaming Republicans for the “heartbreaking” removal of COVID funding, which she said would have been used to “protect against potential new variants and help vaccinate the world.” 

“We must proceed with the omnibus today, which includes emergency funding for Ukraine and urgent funding to meet the needs of America’s families,” Pelosi wrote. "It is heartbreaking to remove the COVID funding, and we must continue to fight for urgently needed COVID assistance, but unfortunately that will not be included in this bill.” 

Without funding, the COVID-19 pandemic may likely come to a screeching halt. 

The healthcare industry is highly incentivized to report high COVID numbers, with hospitals receiving generous bonuses for each reported case, ventilation, and death. 

It was also recently reported that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been paying the mainstream media to promote the vaccine, according to documents recently obtained via a FOIA request. The networks published countless articles and footage pushing the narrative that the vaccine is safe and effective. 

As reported by The Blaze, HHS “purchased advertising from major news networks such as ABC, CBS, and NBC, as well as cable TV news stations Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, legacy media publications including the New York Post, the Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post, digital media companies like BuzzFeed News and Newsmax, and hundreds of local newspapers and TV stations.” 

If the Democrats’ standalone COVID bill does not pass, it is entirely possible that COVID-19 will simply dissipate. 

The package includes $6.5 billion for the cost of sending troops and weapons to Eastern Europe to aid Ukraine in its war with Russia, along with $6.8 billion in economic aid to allies, sanctions, enforcement and protections, against cyber-attacks. 

Also included in the bill was $42 billion for defense spending requested by Republicans and $46 billion for non-defense programs to satisfy Democrats.