WASHINGTON — The lack of spending for monkeypox in the temporary government spending bill moving through Congress means that states will have to take a patchwork approach to paying for the ongoing public health crisis in the short term, the Biden administration said Wednesday.
While the White House had asked for $4.5 billion to combat monkeypox as part of the continuing resolution, Republicans opposed new public health spending. Democrats ultimately opted to drop the monkeypox money in the hopes of easily passing a “clean” funding bill.
The White House now hopes to secure funding for monkeypox treatment and prevention in an expected omnibus bill, which Congress must pass by Dec. 16, barring additional stopgap extensions of current federal funding levels.
