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Associated Press

Congressional stalemate on COVID funding could last months, delay new vaccine orders

Democrats warn delay could cause ‘a lot of unnecessary loss of life,’ but GOP opposes new spending

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer takes a question during a news conference at the Capitol on May 24.

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The U.S. is headed for “a lot of unnecessary loss of life,” the Biden administration says, if Congress fails to provide billions more dollars to brace for the pandemic’s next wave. Yet the quest for that money is in limbo, the latest victim of election-year gridlock that’s stalled or killed a host of Democratic priorities.

President Joe Biden’s appeal for funds for vaccines, testing and treatments has hit opposition from Republicans, who’ve fused the fight with the precarious politics of immigration. Congress...