Congressional dysfunction likely to stall Zika funding bill

President Barack Obama's USD 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 USD 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 today.
In a letter today 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.

"We stand ready to work cooperatively with you," the Democrats' letter said.
The measure is an agreement between House and Senate Republicans who say they drafted it in hopes of finding a compromise that could somehow satisfy both tea party Republicans and Obama's Democratic allies in the Senate.
It did nothing of the sort. The House passed the measure along party lines last week. Senate Democrats immediately opposed it, especially over a provision drafted to block Planned Parenthood, a frequent GOP target, from being eligible for USD 95 million in social services grants.
The White House has threatened to veto the legislation, though it's unlikely to reach Obama's desk.

Zika can cause horrible birth defects and is spread by mosquitoes and through sexual contact. Health professionals fear that clusters of Zika cases will arise now that mosquito season has arrived.