The Biden administration believes it needs at least $7 billion to contain the monkeypox outbreak in the United States, according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post.

Congress has not been formally asked for funding to fight the monkeypox outbreak, but critics have accused the administration of being lackadaisical in its response to the spread of the virus. The Biden team privately expressed to Congress that $7 billion is the target number they would need, according to The Post.

Overall goal of national response is to end monkeypox transmission in the US. There is no plan to move to accept endemic spread. Plan is to eliminate monkeypox 2/x

— Tom Inglesby, MD (@T_Inglesby) July 26, 2022

The request claimed that $7 billion was needed for the “scope and urgency of the current situation,” according to the memo obtained by The Post. White House aides reportedly presented various options to top Democrats on the Senate’s primary healthcare-focused committee, one of which was the $7 billion option.

The administration also reportedly asked for up to $31.4 billion in new COVID-19 funding. (RELATED: Media Alarmists Are Desperate To Turn Monkeypox Into The Next COVID)

President Biden and his top health officials have not yet declared monkeypox to be a national emergency, although the move is reportedly being considered. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak to be a global health emergency earlier in July.

At the time of writing, 3,591 Americans have had confirmed infections with the monkeypox virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There have been no confirmed deaths from the virus in the United States and Europe, and a handful in some African countries where the virus is endemic. The vast majority of cases in the United States and Europe have been found in gay men, the Washington Post noted.