Reid: Congress should back Obama on Zika funding
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is urging his colleagues to support the Obama administration’s request for $1.8 billion to combat the Zika virus.
“It’s critical that we approve the funds now immediately and give our government the resources it needs to fight the virus,” Reid said Monday. He added that he was “encouraged” by the president’s request, which comes days after Senate Democrats urged him to be more aggressive.
{mosads}With the virus linked to birth defects, Reid suggested the U.S. government’s response should also include increasing access to contraceptives.
Obama’s funding request comes as Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell is expected to brief Senate leadership, as well as top committee members, on Tuesday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he hoped to get a better understanding of what the administration is currently doing and what the administration’s “funding priorities” are during Tuesday’s meeting.
Of the $1.8 billion the president is requesting, $1.48 billion is expected to go to HHS, with most of that going to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
The briefing comes amid increasing concern from lawmakers over the potential for a U.S. outbreak of the Zika virus, particularly as the United States heads toward summer. Administration officials have suggested that any outbreak in the United States would be limited.
As of last Friday, the Zika virus had infected 51 people in the United States, with most of the cases originating abroad.
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