Republican pushes for Congress to approve Zika funding

“Zika’s shadow is spreading too quickly in Florida, which has one-quarter of all the Zika cases in the United States,” Rep. Vern Buchanan said Monday. “The rest of the country should keep in mind that summer is coming and so are the mosquitoes. Congress needs to act quickly.”

Buchanan’s comments come as Republicans and Democrats battle over whether to approve the president’s $1.9 billion funding request for fighting the virus. Democrats have called for the funding to be approved, while Republican leaders want more answers from the administration on how the money would be spent.

Buchanan, who has approved of the federal request before, decried the partisan infighting, saying, “Both parties are blaming each other for inaction on a growing and deadly health threat.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told the Washington Examiner that it is making the most of the roughly $500 million that was redirected from funding to fight Ebola.

“The repurposed funds are not enough to support a comprehensive Zika response and only temporarily address what is needed until Congress acts on the administration’s emergency supplemental request,” spokeswoman Erin Sykes said.

Zika normally causes a mild illness, and only one in five people shows symptoms if infected. However, the CDC has confirmed a link between Zika and the birth defect microcephaly, which causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads. CDC researchers also are studying a possible link between Zika and the neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which can cause temporary paralysis.

More than 400 cases have been confirmed in the U.S., with Florida having the most cases at 90. The cases are almost all from people who traveled to an area where the virus is spreading.

The virus spreads primarily by mosquito bites, but so far no mosquitoes in the U.S. are spreading it. CDC officials are worried that could change with mosquito season fast approaching.