Republican lawmakers are trying to include $30 billion for military projects in the new COVID-19 emergency package

• The Senate Republicans' version of a $1 trillion stimulus bill released on Monday includes billions of dollars for defense spending.
• Nearly $30 billion in the bill would be allocated for military spending should it pass without objection from Democrats.
• Democrats took aim at the allocation of funds and railed against the proposal.

The Senate Republicans' version of a $1 trillion stimulus bill released on Monday includes billions of dollars for defense spending — including funds that were previously allocated to military projects but later redirected to President Donald Trump's controversial barrier along the US-Mexico border.

Nearly $30 billion in the bill referred to as the "Heals Act" would be allocated for military spending should it pass without objection from Democrats. The "Heals" in the bill's name is an acronym for "Health; Economic Assistance; Liability protection; and Schools."

The bill, which is intended to respond to the economic pressure caused by the coronavirus pandemic, would allocate $686 million for F-35 stealth fighters, $650 million for A-10 ground attack airplane wing replacements, $1.4 billion for four expeditionary medical ships, and $720 million for C-130J transport aircraft.

Defense projects like the $261 million US Navy expeditionary fast transport ship, which is constructed in Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby's home state of Alabama, were originally redirected to Trump's border wall project in the previous quarter. The new bill would fund provide $260 million in funds for the project.

Senate Democrats took aim at the allocation of funds and railed against the proposal, setting the scene for a period of negotiations.

"What does this have to do with the immediate crisis," Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said in a statement. "The bill provides nothing to address the long lines at foodbanks and shortchanges education and childcare, but we can shore up the defense industry? I am at a loss for words."

Senate Republicans have insisted the spending would be prudent and that Democrats were also injecting their own demands into the bill.

"The Senate will not waste time with pointless partisanship," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement on Monday. "We have produced a tailored and targeted draft that will cut right to the heart of three distinct crises facing our country — getting kids back in school, getting workers back to work, and winning the healthcare fight against the virus."