![Global COVID relief "critical" to U.S. national security, Coons says](https://cbsnews1.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2022/04/17/ee63a9cf-1aeb-4d6a-bf45-117a336eda5d/thumbnail/1200x630g2/2d80ce5cb26b78addf6c72d1a9a4713c/coons2.jpg)
Global COVID relief "critical" to U.S. national security, Coons says
CBSN
Washington — Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware said Sunday that additional funding to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide is "critical" to U.S. national security, as Congress remains in a standstill over providing supplemental pandemic relief.
"I think this is critical to our national security. We've already lost 1 million Americans," Coons said in an interview with "Face the Nation." "I think we can and should justify this additional spending as critical for our national security or as teaching our values, showing to each other the best in the human spirit and the most central tenets of the faith that inspires so many Americans."
President Biden called on Congress in March to approve an additional $22.5 billion in COVID-19 relief to continue vaccination and testing efforts in the U.S. and prepare for future variants, as well as to fund global efforts to combat the pandemic.
![](/newspic/picid-6252001-20250204185518.jpg)
An anonymous group of FBI agents who worked on the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot investigation and other federal probes tied to President Trump are suing the federal government over the Justice Department's plans to review the FBI's workforce and scrutinize agents who may have worked on the sensitive investigations, according to a new court filing.
![](/newspic/picid-6252001-20250204171317.jpg)
Washington — The U.S. government is moving quickly to implement President Trump's order to turn facilities at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base into a large-scale immigration detention center, with plans to transport the first group of migrant detainees there on Tuesday, two U.S. officials told CBS News.
![](/newspic/picid-6252001-20250204132645.jpg)
With Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) gaining control of the Treasury Department's payment system, consumer advocates and Democratic lawmakers are raising alarms about the group's access to the federal government's financial spigot, as well as sensitive data such as the Social Security numbers of most taxpayers.