White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Wednesday that President Obama would sign a Republican bill aimed at speeding up development of Zika vaccines, but chided lawmakers for failing to provide the $1.9 billion the government says it needs to fight the virus, and downplayed the bill as a “meager accomplishment.”
“In some ways it’s akin to passing out umbrellas in advance of a potential hurricane,” Earnest told reporters. “The bill that Congress passed yesterday doesn’t include any funding. That is not going to do anything for local communities across the country … that fight the mosquitoes which carry this virus.”
Although an umbrella “might come in handy,” it’s not going to get the job done, Earnest said. He also slammed House passage of the bill on Tuesday was “two months late and $1.9 billion short.”
Earnest even joked that Congress’s slow pace on approving legislation now “almost makes me long for the days of having old Tom DeLay back; the former exterminator could certainly offer some advice.” DeLay, the one-time House majority leader, was nicknamed “the exterminator” because the Texas Republican once owned a pest control business.
Earnest’s comments came as the administration continues to push Congress to greenlight money to fight the outbreak, which has spread to more than 50 countries and territories.
The House bill approved on Tuesday enables drug companies to get a priority review voucher if they make a Zika treatment or vaccine. That voucher can be used to get a completely separate drug for any use faster approval from the FDA. Such voucher programs already exist for Ebola, tropical diseases and rare pediatric diseases.
Currently, there is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which causes a mild illness but is also believed to cause birth defects and a neurological disorder.
The GOP has been cool to Obama’s request, and instead has called for the administration to use leftover money appropriated for fighting Ebola. The administration eventually relented, appropriating about $500 million last week, but charged for Congress to continue to approve the full requested amount.
So far there are more than 300 cases of Zika in the U.S. but almost all are from people who recently traveled to a country where the virus is spreading via mosquito bites.
U.S. health agencies expect some outbreaks of Zika in the continental United States when the climate gets warmer.
