Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told lawmakers this week that his department needs an additional $30 billion to maintain the federal response to the Covid-19 pandemic, but some appropriators are worried about the viability of including those funds in the spending package for fiscal year 2022.

According to Politico, the HHS request breaks down as “$18 billion for Covid treatments and vaccines, $5 billion for testing, $3 billion to cover care for the uninsured, $3.7 billion to develop vaccines to protect against future variants and $500 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s public health surveillance work.”

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) told Politico that Democrats are focused on successfully negotiating the main spending package for the year and leery of adding additional provisions that could jeopardize the process. “Anything that detracts from that is a heavier lift,” he said. Still, there is interest in providing more funding. “So, there is a reluctance to do a supplemental but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen,” Cardin added, referring to the supplemental bill that would potentially provide the additional funds.

GOP opposition: The top Republican negotiator, Sen. Richard Shelby (AL), the ranking member on the Appropriations Committee, expressed doubts about the HHS request. “Where are we going to get the money?” he said, adding that he would have to review the request carefully. And he warned that opening the door to new funding requests could complicate the negotiations. “Once you start a vehicle moving, a lot of people want to ride on it,” he said.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KA) rejected the idea entirely. “Most people think we’ve borrowed enough money from our grandchildren,” he said. “And, I’ll tell you, inflation is the number one concern I hear from people back home. So instead of [the supplemental], I think we need to end the declaration of emergency for Covid, stop the fear mongering, and encourage people to go back to work.”

In the House, Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington made it clear that she, presumably like many of her conservative colleagues, has no interest in providing more resources for the federal response to Covid. “It’s time to unwind this pandemic of bureaucracy, get government out of the way, and allow Americans to return to normal life,” she said.

Democrats to keep pushing: Democrats say they will continue to work to secure additional funds. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said the money would be a “smart investment” in the current environment. “The Biden administration is trying to do the right thing and make sure they have the resources to be prepared for the next Covid variant,” she said.