“There is a risk of spread of Zika virus disease in the European Region and. this risk varies from country to country, said Zsuzsanna Jakab, the WHO’s regional director for Europe”.
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The Senate got one step closer today to passing a billion-dollar measure to fund the Obama administration’s efforts against the Zika virus – pushing the chamber further down a collision course with the House as they work on vastly different funding measures to combat the virus.
Unlike the House bill, the Senate version doesn’t try to pay for the new spending by cutting other programs because it’s considered emergency funding. President Obama requested $1.9 billion in funding in February and was later forced to pull about $500 million from a separate Ebola account to amplify its response.
Now the Senate is still moving forward with its own 1.1 billion dollar plan.
Democrats and the White House have been hammering at Republicans for dragging their feet on Zika, but the political tempest in Washington hasn’t been matched by fear among the public, at least according to recent polling.
House Republicans argue their bill, when coupled with $589 million the Obama administration already shifted to Zika from unused funds to battle Ebola, would provide enough money through September 30, the end of this fiscal year. But GOP leaders see a political imperative to act as the summer mosquito season heats up.
This sets the stage for hard negotiations with House Republicans over how much money to devote to fighting the virus and whether to cut Ebola funding to help pay for it.
Obama put nearly $600 million in previous appropriations, mostly funds left from Ebola funding, towards Zika when Congress hesitated to act.
Many conservative Republicans in the House refuse to approve Zika funds that would add to federal budget deficits, while Democrats and some Senate Republicans favor treating the problem as an emergency that would not have to be financed with spending cuts.
The White House has called the House measure “woefully inadequate”.
“It’s going to take two to three years to complete the necessary research”, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), who has a medical degree, said on the floor Wednesday evening.
“The only thing that Republicans in the House have come forward with is funding at like a third of the level that our public health experts recommend”, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a briefing Wednesday.
Frieden said the House measure would hamper the CDC’s ability to monitor women and babies with Zika over several years, fight the mosquitoes that spread it, and develop better diagnostic tests.
State health officials also confirmed the 8th case involving a pregnant woman.
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“We can stop this crisis before it gets worse, but we have to act now and fully fund the president’s request”, said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.
