Sen. Bill Nelson, whose state has been hard hit by the Zika virus, said Thursday that he will support a short-term spending bill even though it doesn’t include help for the Flint, Mich., drinking water crisis.
“This bill provides a clean $1.1 billion to help stop the spread of Zika virus with no political riders, and I will support it,” the Florida Democrat said.
{mosads}He added that “while I support the people of Flint, my priority is the people of Florida.”
Nelson is not up for reelection this year but does face a potentially tough midterm election battle in 2018.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) filed a continuing resolution (CR) on Thursday that included money to fight the virus, after a fight over Planned Parenthood getting access to the funds slowed down negotiations for weeks.
Democrats quickly disavowed the proposal, setting up a showdown over funding the government days ahead of the Oct. 1 deadline.
The Senate is scheduled to take its first procedural vote on the bill Tuesday, where McConnell will need at least six Democrats to support the bill to overcome the 60-vote threshold.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (Md.), the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said the continuing resolution “falls short” because it doesn’t include the funding for Flint or other communities that have found lead in their drinking water.
“One hundred thousand people in Flint, Mich., are still waiting for their water to be clean and safe,” she said on the Senate floor. “Nine thousand children have already had lead exposure that can cause permanent and irreversible damage. It tells Michigan to keep waiting in line.”
The continuing resolution does include emergency funding for flood relief in Louisiana, West Virginia and Maryland.