WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 (UPI) — U.S. senators, returning from a seven-week break, failed to approve a spending bill that includes $1.1 billion to pay for a federal response to the Zika virus.
With a 52-46 vote Tuesday, the proposal fell short of the 60 votes necessary to end debate on a conference report with the House on the issue. The bill has failed three times in the Senate because it cuts Planned Parenthood funding, which is opposed by Democrats.
In February, President Barack Obama asked for $1.9 billion in emergency funding to fight Zika. In June, the House approved $1.1 billion in Zika funding, which includes about $350 million in new money and the rest from existing health accounts.
“Republicans were more interested in attacking Planned Parenthood and flying the Confederate flag. Can’t make that stuff up — that’s really the truth — than protecting women and babies from this awful virus,” said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
“They sent it back with all this strange, weird stuff in it. They cut funding for the Veteran’s Administration by half a billion. They tried to disguise the fact that they wanted to eliminate Planned Parenthood.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., blamed Democrats for the defeat.
“Our colleagues across the aisle will point to partisan excuses, but the bottom line is this: There’s no excuse not to pass these bills,” McConnell said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases say they need the money. The Zika virus can cause severe, debilitating and often fatal birth defects.
“Basically, we are out of money and we need Congress to act,” Tom Frieden, the director of the CDC told reporters last week. “The cupboard is bare.”
Congress has until Sept. 30 to pass a budget for next year. Without a bill, federal agencies possibly will be shut down.
On Tuesday, Florida health officials said seven more home-grown cases of Zika, six of them part of an outbreak in Miami Beach, were found. Florida has documented 56 locally transmitted cases of Zika infection.
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said 80 pregnant women in his state have Zika.
“It ought to be common sense that folks like me come to plead with our colleagues. Let’s stop this monkey business,” Nelson said.
Nationally, the CDC says more than 16,000 travelers have shown up with Zika infections in states or territories, including Puerto Rico. That includes 624 pregnant women affected by Zika in the 50 states and 971 more in territories.
