The GOP is rebranding a bill aimed at rolling back environmental regulations to instead combat the Zika virus.
Environmental Protection Agency “regulations under the Clean Water Act actually make it harder for our local communities to get the permits they need to go and kill the mosquitoes where they breed by sources of water,” House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters Tuesday.
The effort comes after weeks of accusations that the Republican Party is ignoring what has become a top public health concern for the nation.
Zika usually only causes a mild illness, but health officials have found that it causes a birth defect caused microcephaly and has been linked to a neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome. More than 500 cases have been found in the U.S., almost all in people who traveled to one of the countries where Zika is prevalent.
The GOP has taken a bill meant to counter EPA overreach and turned it into a bill that counters regulations that make it harder for states to take action against the Zika virus, such as pesticide spraying.
“So this is an important bill as part of a package to make sure that we’re combating Zika,” Scalise said.
The House plans to vote on the measure, the Zika Vector Control Act, Tuesday afternoon. As of last week, it held the title Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act.
The bill would ban the EPA from requiring permits to spray pesticides near water if the application has been approved by a state and the pesticides are federally approved.
Democrats criticized the attempt as specious and has nothing to do with preventing the spread of the virus or public health.
