WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's $1.9 billion emergency request to combat a potential public health crisis from the Zika virus is more than 4 months old, but congressional dysfunction appears likely to scuttle a scaled-back version of the president's request, raising the prospect that Congress may leave on a seven-week vacation next month without addressing Zika.
Senate Democrats say they will block a $1.1 billion Republican-drafted measure to combat the virus, arguing that it contains unfair spending cuts and limits which groups can deliver health care and provide contraception to women in Zika-infested Puerto Rico. The vote is Tuesday.
In a letter Tuesday morning, top Senate Democrats reiterated their opposition to "poison pill riders" but offered relatively mild objections to the inclusion of spending cuts known as "offsets" to finance the Zika package.
Read Full Article »