NewsColony

Trump Administration Pulls Back From $1 Billion Coronavirus Ventilator Deal NewsColony WASHINGTON — The White House had been preparing on Wednesday to announce amid an escalating pandemic that a joint venture between General Motors and Ventec Life Systems would begin producing as many as 80,000 desperately needed ventilators when word suddenly came down that the announcement was off. The decision to cancel the announcement, according to government officials, came after the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it needed more time to assess whether the estimated cost was prohibitive — more than $1 billion, with several hundred million dollars to be paid upfront to General Motors to retool the car parts plant in Kokomo, Ind., where the ventilators would be made with Ventec’s technology. Government officials said the deal may still happen but that they are looking at a dozen or more other proposals. And they contend that an initial promise that the joint venture could turn out 2...