With local transmission of the Zika virus now confirmed, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are calling for an emergency session of Congress to fund the fight against a virus that can cause severe birth defects to babies of infected women.
Florida lawmakers have pushed for an emergency session, as have some Democrats in Connecticut and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia.
Lawmakers left for their seven-week summer break in July without approving President Barack Obama's request for $1.9 billion to fight Zika. Questions over where the money should come from, and how it would be used, and amendments targeting Planned Parenthood repeatedly derailed efforts to pass the funding.
Florida officials have reported that at least 15 people have been infected locally by mosquitoes. That prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue its first travel advisory for the continental U.S., urging pregnant women not to go to a specific area north of downtown Miami.
The CDC recently allocated $16 million in grants to local health officials to help them track cases of birth defects.
The White House has used about $201 million of the $374 million it repurposed from funds allocated for Ebola. Republicans have questioned why the administration seems to be sitting on the rest of the money.
During a news conference last week, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said Obama needs to spend that money immediately, because the current crisis is with Zika, not Ebola. He also endorsed an emergency session.
“At this point, the time for political gamesmenship has to end,” he said.
