Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., claimed Republicans were more interested in attacking Planned Parenthood and flying the confederate flag than protecting women and babies the virus. “The bills blocked (on Tuesday) also provide funding to improve military housing for our service members and ensures our veterans receive the benefits they deserve”.
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House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters that Democrats want Zika funding added to stop-gap legislation that Congress must pass by October 1 to keep federal agencies operating.
Six months after President Raul Castro declared war on the Zika virus in Cuba, a militarized nationwide campaign of intensive mosquito spraying, monitoring and quarantine appears to be working.
The Senate has already begun work on a bipartisan compromise that’s expected to be added to this month’s stopgap government spending bill.
These figures come from the nation’s top health officials, who have been – with no thanks from you – working hard this summer to keep track of Zika’s spread, help local public health agencies deal with cases and develop a vaccine.
With so much at stake, you’d expect Congress to be pulling out all stops to prevent the scourge from worsening.
But Congress is under enormous pressure to act on Zika funding in the wake of the outbreak – after legislation has been stalled over a round of partisan bickering.
The wording was put in by House Republicans in June, just after Democrats’ all-night protest on the floor to call for votes on gun reform bills.
“There are friends and people over there that I can talk to, but they’re going to have to make their own decision moving forward”, he said.
“Senate Democrats played politics”, she said on WMT AM 600.
The bill included a provision blocking Planned Parenthood from receiving a contraception funding to fight Zika.
Voters, particularly in the key swing state of Florida, are growing increasingly concerned about the spread of Zika virus, and money to fight the spread of the disease is quickly running out.
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Congress has failed to approve any funding to fight the mosquito-borne virus since President Barack Obama asked for $US1.9 billion ($A2.5 billion) in February. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising that pregnant women avoid traveling to those areas of Miami where infections are occurring to reduce their risk of contracting Zika.
