
Democrats on Monday evening released an updated version of their proposed pandemic relief package that includes $2.5 billion for defense but no allotted funds to cover defense industry’s COVID-related costs. Ellen Lord, the Pentagon’s top acquisition official, has previously urged lawmakers to appropriate reimbursement funds for industry in the next relief bill, estimating the costs to be between $10 billion to $20 billion. “Democrats are making good on our promise to compromise with this updated bill, which is necessary to…