Biden administration floating even more federal funding for COVID-19 response

Washington — The Biden administration is gauging potential support on Capitol Hill for new federal funding to pay for the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on more money to pay for testing, treatment programs and development of vaccines to fight the virus and future diseases.  

How much money is needed and how exactly the funding would be provided by Congress remains unclear, but the issue has been the subject of discussions across Washington in recent weeks. The new money would come after Congress has already allocated record-setting sums totaling trillions of dollars to buoy the American economy and beleaguered state and municipal governments reeling from a lack of tax revenue caused by the COVID downturn. But with states and cities lifting COVID-related restrictions and the economy continuing to grow at a record pace, the political appetite for more federal funding is unknown.

A more focused request for new potential spending came up in meetings Tuesday between administration officials and congressional staff working on forthcoming federal spending legislation, people familiar with the meeting tell CBS News.