“Congress must act now,” Biden said last week. “The consequences of inaction are serious.” This time, the stalemate came as Republicans called for a vote on an immigration amendment to restore Title 42, a pandemic rule that allowed migrants to return immediately to their countries of origin citing a public health emergency. . Democrats opposed it, criticizing Republicans for what they called an eleven-hour question in a deal they thought was final. But the fight for immigration is only the latest in a string of congressional struggles to respond to an unpredictable and ever-changing virus. The Biden administration announced last week that it planned to reinstate Title 42 in May, but the decision has been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats. Democrat leaders, however, say a vote now on an amendment would violate the agreement they believed they had with Republicans. And while many Democrats have said they would support autonomous legislation to reinstate Title 42 as long as there is an emergency for public health in other parts of the government, even members who opposed Biden’s action say they do not want the debate to take place as part of of Covid funding. “We had a bipartisan agreement and unfortunately, because of an external issue, we will not be able to get the 10 Republican votes we need to vote for it,” said Democratic Sen. Debbie Stampenou of Michigan. This is the second time that a trial agreement for a Covid relief package has been canceled in just over a month. In March, a $ 15.6 billion package negotiated by House and Senate leaders collapsed when a House Democrat group revolted against him over the way he was paid. Just weeks later, another tough deal was negotiated, but it was smaller, totaling just $ 10 billion instead of nearly $ 16 billion.
“When this deal is blown up, you try to make it as an independent bill, and it gets a lot more complicated,” said South Dakota Sen. John Thun, a GOP lawmaker. “There are a lot of issues around this now … We’ll see where it goes from here.” The impasse comes as Covid is still a reality at the Capitol. This week alone, nearly a dozen members, including Parliament Speaker Nancy Pelosi, tested positive for the virus. The $ 10 billion package would be largely intended to prepare the United States for future epidemics and to invest in trials, treatments and therapies. It is still possible that senators will be able to find a way forward after the Easter holidays, but it is not clear that the 10 GOP votes will be implemented without a vote on the immigration amendment. And GOP senators point out that the longer the bill lasts, the harder it can be to cross the finish line. “Ten billion dollars is a lot of money,” said Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican. “I think it makes sense to say, ‘Let’s have a handful of amendments on each side.’ “ Asked if he feared the bill might never happen now that lawmakers have left for a break, Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt said: “It’s never too long.” “I think we have to deal with it and I think we can figure out how to deal with it, but the announcement of Title 42 was a real problem,” he said. Blunt suggested that the administration’s timing in its decision to repeal Title 42, which essentially meant that there was no longer a public health crisis at the border, had jeopardized the bill. “There may have been an amendment, but not an amendment that Democrats considered kryptonite,” he said. Democrats insist Covid’s relief will eventually pass. It may take some time for the details to settle. “It will pass,” said Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia. “We play some Russian roulette here. What if the virus goes off? I do not know what the current stock of supplies is?” CNN’s Manu Raju and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.