Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Senate Vote To Fund $1.1B Zika Plan Sets Stage For Showdown With The House
The Senate on Thursday approved its $1.1 billion plan to combat the Zika virus, setting the stage for difficult negotiations with House Republicans over how much money to devote to fighting the virus and whether to cut Ebola funding to help pay for it. The 68-30 vote added the Zika measure to an unrelated spending bill and follows party-line passage of a separate $622 million House bill on Wednesday. The White House has signaled that President Barack Obama would accept the Senate compromise measure but has issued a veto threat on the House bill, saying it doesn’t provide enough money. (Taylor, 5/19)
An election-year fight over addressing the spreading Zika virus intensified in the U.S. Congress as the Senate on Thursday approved $1.1 billion in emergency money one day after the House of Representatives voted $622.1 million financed through cuts to existing programs. The two chambers would have to reach agreement on a spending level before they can send it to President Barack Obama, who in February requested $1.9 billion. The White House has called the House measure "woefully inadequate" and has threatened to veto it. (Cowan, 5/19)
The Senate added emergency Zika funding to a larger spending bill Thursday, all but guaranteeing it will go nowhere soon. The Senate voted earlier to waive budget rules and add the cost of the $1.1 billion Zika measure to the deficit. It then passed it, 89-8, along with a massive appropriations measure that includes funding for transportation programs, the VA, housing programs and military construction. (McAuliff, 5/19)
While Congress fidgets over whether and how to pay for the fight against the Zika virus, state and local health departments are scrambling and slimming down. That's because these front-line public health agencies have already seen their budgets chopped because of the debate. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in April cut $44 million from its fund that helps state and local governments prepare for public health emergencies. It was part of the $589 million the White House moved from other programs – mostly money allocated for domestic and international responses to the Ebola virus – to combat Zika as it awaited action on Capitol Hill. (Kodjak, 5/19)
