With more than 2,600 people in mainland China dead due to the coronavirus, the White House is seeking $2.5 billion in funds to combat the outbreak.
Officials in the budget office asked Congress on Monday for $1.25 billion for vaccines, treatment, and protective equipment, with the rest pulled from other Department of Health and Human Services accounts.
Fears that the virus hasn't been contained sent the stock market spiraling, losing 1,000 points from the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized the administration, saying that the plan "is long overdue and completely inadequate to the scale of this emergency."
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