Feeling Heat on Zika, Senate Republicans to Approve Funds
- Roy Blunt says $1.1 billion could be added to spending bills
- Democrats, White House continue to push for $1.9 billion
Adult mosquitoes are seen in an egg production cage in the laboratory at the Oxitec Ltd. facility in Campinas, Brazil, on March 1, 2016.
Photographer: Paulo Fridman/BloombergSenate Republicans plan to approve at least $1.1 billion to combat the Zika virus in the next week or so, amid intensifying pressure to combat the spread of the mosquito-borne illness.
Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, the Republican who chairs the spending subcommittee that oversees health funding, said he wants to add $1.1 billion in emergency funding to a package of spending bills coming to the Senate floor this week. That figure falls short of the White House’s request for $1.9 billion to combat the virus, which is believed to cause serious birth defects. It could also trigger a fight with House Republicans, who are demanding offsetting spending cuts.