Senators to vote on emergency funding for Zika response

Senators agreed on May 12 on a bipartisan deal that would provide $1.1 billion — approximately half of President Barack Obama’s request for $1.9 billion — in emergency funding for Zika preparedness and response efforts, according to a press release.

The deal is expected to be voted on next week in the Senate. If passed, the funds will be considered by the House.

Patty Murray

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, announced she reached the deal with Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., despite her support for Obama’s $1.9 billion request.

“I am very glad that Chairman Blunt and I have been able to work together on an emergency funding bill to quickly respond to the Zika threat,” Murray said in the release. “I continue to urge my colleagues to support the President’s full request, but I am very encouraged that Democrats and Republicans will be able to come together with a strong step forward to help ensure families in Washington state and across the country are prepared to respond to this emergency.”

Sens. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., however, expressed concern over the $1.1 billion deal, saying it is not enough to respond to the epidemic. Within the United States, Florida currently has the most reported cases of Zika virus infection among all states with 112.

“The administration has been clear from the start: It’s going to take $1.9 billion to stop the spread of this virus, not $1.1 [billion],” Nelson said in a press release.

Bill Nelson

Marco Rubio

Immediately after the deal was announced Nelson and Rubio released an amendment that would fund Obama’s full request.

“No one wants the Zika issue to become a full-blown crisis that leaves us scrambling to respond,” Rubio said in the release. “Let’s deal with this now and protect our people, including the American citizens in Puerto Rico who have been most impacted so far. The strain on Puerto Rico’s health system from Zika must be addressed, as this proposal does.”