Almost 70 cases have been reported in South Florida, so far, and crews are very busy spraying to fight the spread of the mosquito-borne virus. It is a glaring example of the political machine at its worst: the very people who are demanding the passage of Zika funding are its only obstacle to approval.
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Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are seen in a mosquito cage at a laboratory in Cucuta, Colombia.
Puerto Rico has been one of the hardest hit regions with Zika in recent months.
Zika can cause severe birth defects, including microcephaly.
Left out of the attack is that Democrats objected to the Republican-crafted Zika bill because it cut money to Planned Parenthood – a provision both sides knew would doom the Senate legislation because Democrats have enough votes to block bills.
The vote needed 60 votes to pass.
But Democrats, who could be on the cusp of taking back the Senate, argue the unresolved Zika funding, stalled Supreme Court nomination of Judge Merrick Garland, and lack of action on gun control, are proof of GOP recklessness and negligence and reasons why Republicans should be tossed from power.
“It’s hard to explain why, despite their own calls for funding, Democrats would block plans to keep women and babies safe from Zika”, McConnell said before the vote.
“It’s also hard to explain why – despite the array of terror attacks we’ve seen across the world – Senate Democrats chose to block a bill that could help keep the American people safer from threats like ISIL”.
Through the end of August, 16,832 Zika cases had been reported in the US and its territories, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, said Republicans had sabotaged efforts to address Zika by including the restrictions on Planned Parenthood.
He said the Senate Majority Leader should pressure the House Republicans to drop their insistence on the unrelated measures in the Zika emergency legislation.
Senate Democrats once again blocked the measure, which included provisions that would restricted Planned Parenthood. GOP leaders, hoping to retain Senate and House majorities in November’s elections and maximize Donald Trump’s prospects for winning the White House, aim to send Congress home by September’s end so lawmakers can campaign. The House passed the measure largely along party lines, 239-171, with all six New Jersey Republicans supporting the legislation and five Democrats voting no.
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said 80 pregnant women in his state have Zika.
“Senate Democrats played politics”, she said on WMT AM 600.
“We can’t neglect that any longer”, Cornyn said.
It’s not clear what the long-term practical impact will be, although there are several hearings Wednesday that might need to be canceled.
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Since then, both parties have backed $1.1 billion as the funding figure.
