The Obama administration is asking Republican leaders to pass a Zika plan with bipartisan support, in a last-minute plea for funds to combat the virus before Congress leaves for an extended summer break.
According to a letter obtained by CQ Roll Call, two top administration officials petitioned GOP congressional leadership to pass “a funding plan that enjoys the bipartisan support needed to secure this critical funding during the short time remaining in the July session.” The letter was signed by Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan and Health and Human Services Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell.
They added that if Congress doesn’t pass a measure, “thousands more Americans could be infected with Zika virus, including potentially thousands of pregnant women leading to an unknown number of infants born with microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects.”
This week marks the final chance for Democrats and Republicans to agree on a bill providing emergency funds to help screen for Zika, develop a vaccine and mount mosquito control efforts so the virus has less chance of spreading widely around the U.S.
Republicans have tried to pass a $1.1 billion measure, well short of the $1.9 billion Obama has requested, but Democrats have blocked it because of the lower level of funding and additional prohibitions on directing the money towards Planned Parenthood clinics. Lawmakers have been fighting over the matter since Obama’s initial funding request in February.
The letter from Burwell and Donovan doesn’t name a specific figure that needs to be included in a final agreement, nor does it mention the Planned Parenthood ban. Instead, the officials just urged Congress to pass a bill with bipartisan support before the seven-week recess begins.
There are currently 1,132 confirmed, travel-related Zika cases in the U.S. and 320 pregnant women with evidence of the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
