Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid rejected two GOP spending proposals for fighting the Zika virus because they fall short of the $1.9 billion requested by President Obama.
Reid, D-Nev., stood before a map of the United States that showed the potential spread of the virus throughout the nation and called for the Republican-led House and Senate to fully fund Obama’s request. The virus causes severe birth defects as well as neurological problems.
The Senate GOP is proposing $1.1 billion in new funding while the House GOP plan would spend $622 million on fighting Zika by shifting existing federal funds.
“Republicans are trying to haggle as if this is some sort of bidding war,” Reid said during a floor speech Monday. “This is not how Congress should react to a potentially devastating health crisis.”
The Senate is set to vote this week on three proposals for funding Zika. The Democratic plan would spend $1.9 billion while two GOP plans would spend $1.1 billion, with one plan offsetting the spending.
Reid said congressional approval of additional funding is taking too long. President Obama initially asked for funding in a Feb. 22 letter to Congress.
“People are begging for this money,” Reid said. “Republicans should be ashamed we aren’t doing everything in our power to do it now, to protect the American people from this virus.”
Republicans say the holdup is partly a result of the administration acting too slowly to answer GOP questions about the funding request.
