The White House accused Republicans Thursday of turning its funding request to combat the Zika virus into a partisan issue when it’s a simple matter of public health.
“There’s nothing ideological about” seeking $1.89 billion to help communities spray for the mosquitos carrying the virus and to fund vaccine efforts, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Thursday.
“There’s no reason this should be partisan … this is just a matter of doing your job,” Earnest said. “They don’t have a legitimate reason” not to, he said about congressional Republicans’ refusal to act on the proposal the administration submitted two months ago.
He also noted that Republicans mostly represent the states likely to be hardest hit, which makes their intransigence more puzzling.
Republicans have said they still don’t have enough information from the White House to understand how it wants to use the money. GOP lawmakers say they can’t assess the request without more data.
But Earnest said criticism that the White House has not been specific enough is unfounded.
The administration put forward actual legislation, Earnest said. If Republicans would fulfill public health officials’ request for Zika money differently, they should suggest changes or make a counter-proposal, he said.
As summer approaches, the window for preventive action is closing, Earnest said. Typically there is no warning before an epidemic strikes, but in this case, the U.S. can counter the disease before it strikes and mitigate fallout. “And I don’t know what Republicans are going to say that they did to prepare for it,” he said.
Congressional Republicans will have to explain why they “frittered away” the opportunity to take an offensive stance against the virus, he said.
“The clock is ticking,” Earnest said. “The ball is in Congress’s court.”
