U.S. Representative Pete Aguilar of California was among the 415 members of Congress who voted yes on an $8.3 billion emergency package to address the coronavirus outbreak.
The bipartisan bill came after the Trump administration requested just $2.5 billion in aid.
"Quite frankly, we didn't feel that the administration's dollar amount was up to the task," Aguilar (D-Calif. 31st District) told Cheddar.
The representative also took issue with the White House's plan to raid other federal health programs to offset costs. The administration eyed $136 million in cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services, including funding for mental health and substance abuse treatment, Ebola treatment and prevention, and heating assistance for low-income households.
"We're not going to sacrifice prevention for treatment for Ebola or other items in order to deal with coronavirus," Aguilar said.
In addition to increased funding, Aguilar called for more information and transparency from government officials. He responded specifically to Trump's comments on the Fox News show Hannity on Wednesday night that the 3.4 percent global mortality rate agreed upon by the World Health Organization earlier this week "is really a false number."
Aguilar said the president stopped just short of calling the number "fake news," and that speculation of this kind impedes efforts to keep people informed.
"The public health world and the World Health Organization don't care what the president's hunch is about these numbers," he said. "We need more folks in white lab coats briefing the public rather than the president going on the partisan Hannity show."
The vast majority of the new funding ($7.8 million) will go to agencies working to fight the outbreak, with $500 million set aside for Medicare providers to use telehealth options for elderly patients so they can avoid potentially exposing themselves by visiting a doctor's office.
The aid package is now headed to the Senate, which is expected to approve the funding, and then onto Trump's desk.
"We'll spend whatever is appropriate," the president said last week.
