WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Businesses shuttered. Hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians are out of work. The coronavirus is leaving its mark.

Congress has already approved three bills in response to the virus outbreak, totalling more than $2 trillion in spending. Some lawmakers are now eyeing a fourth aid bill, aimed at propping up the economy.

In an interview, Rep. David Price, D-4th District, indicated more action is needed.

“The first three bills were just the best we could do at that point, but there’s going to need to be more directly addressing the crisis,” he said.

In recent weeks, Democratic leaders floated infrastructure spending as part of phase four. President Donald Trump also seemed open to the idea.

When asked whether infrastructure should be part of recovery efforts, Price said, “We’re long, long overdue for infrastructure investments in this country. And this may be an opportunity to turn to some of those things that would have a quick impact, put people back to work.”

However, facing some opposition from senior Republicans on Capitol Hill, Democratic leaders put the infrastructure on the back-burner. Instead, they turned their focus to expanding the aid programs already enacted, including boosting unemployment insurance and rolling out another round of direct payments to the public - the so-called “checks.”

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When it comes to a potential phase four bill, North Carolina Republicans who spoke with Spectrum News urged caution, expressing concern about the national debt.

They suggested a wait-and-see approach to additional spending. They did not, however, rule out further spending altogether.

“We just spent the full annual appropriations of the federal government in three weeks time in three different bills in response to the coronavirus, so I think we need to be measured about the next phases of response,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-10th District.

“May very well be that we need to do more help for hospitals,” said Rep. Richard Hudson, R-8th District. “But let’s see the effects of the $2 trillion bill that we just passed before we start talking about spending more.”

When lawmakers may take up any fourth installment is unclear. They are not scheduled to be back in Washington, D.C. until April 20 - a return date that could be put off further due to the virus