Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., said Thursday she will propose an amendment to a pending novel coronavirus relief bill that will bar states from receiving any funds if they do not have statewide requirements for facial coverings in public.
"Wearing masks in public should be mandatory. Period," she said in a press release.
The proposal by Feinstein, 87, is likely to be the subject of another partisan dispute with many Republicans opposed and Democrats demanding, as it has been for more than two months.
"We've seen 60,000 new cases in five of the last six days," Feinstein said in her release. "We're failing to control this virus, and it's time for serious action."
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Thursday that President Donald Trump prefers local officials make the determination whether to wear a mask in public.
The average number of daily new cases across the country has nearly tripled to more than 65,000 after reaching a three-month low of just over 22,000 in early June, according to Worldometer.
The number of daily deaths from COVID-19, however, has trended lower since reaching a seven-day average peak of 2,254 on April 21. The seven-day average was at 760 on Wednesday.
Florida and Texas have seen the highest number of daily new cases in recent days, both over 10,000, but Florida has seen its seven-day average relatively flat for the past three days while Texas' rise has slowed.
Almost a third of all cases in Florida have been confined to two counties, Miami-Dade and Broward, while three counties: Harris, Dallas, and Bexar, account for about a third of all cases in Texas.