Coronavirus Threatens to Sidetrack Senate’s Election-Year Agenda

The growing threat posed by the coronavirus could hijack much of this year’s legislative agenda in the Senate, where leaders were already struggling to reach deals on issues such as infrastructure funding and drug pricing.

The Senate’s vote on a $7.8 billion emergency supplemental spending measure (H.R. 6074) to deal with the virus marks a rare burst of bicameral, bipartisan action.

That move could be followed by another emergency spending bill or even a full-blown stimulus as President Donald Trump and Republicans on Capitol Hill seek to insulate the U.S. economy from the impact of the virus, lawmakers said. ...