Democrats objected to Republicans’ demands for offsets for any funding to fight the Zika virus, with the parties reaching an impasse.
“We should have no offset,” said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., during a press conference Wednesday.
The objections come as Republicans in the Senate appeared open to bringing a Zika funding bill forward, but Democrats say nothing has been brought to the chamber. In the House, Republicans have pushed the Obama administration for more answers on how the money from the $1.9 billion emergency funding request will be spent.
Reid demurred when asked whether Democrats would support funding below the $1.9 billion request made in late February.
“We believe $1.9 billion has been an appropriate number,” he said. “Let [Republicans] bring something forward. We haven’t heard anything from them for a week.”
The comments come as a bipartisan deal in the Senate for $1.1 billion in Zika funding is stumbling due to resistance from House lawmakers.
It appeared likely that the package wouldn’t advance before lawmakers leave town for a weeklong recess. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said the House is “not where we are yet in terms of dealing with this issue.”
The delay didn’t sit well with Democrats, who accused Republicans of not doing their job.
“Mosquitoes don’t care about the budget process,” said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md. “Mosquitoes don’t care that we don’t have a budget agreement.”
The administration has redirected $510 million in Ebola funding to fight the virus but has called for Congress to approve the full $1.9 billion amount.
Congress is expected to return the week of May 9.
Nearly 400 cases have been found in the continental U.S., but almost all are from people who traveled to a country where the virus is spreading. The virus in the U.S. hasn’t spread via mosquito bites, but officials worry that can change with summer around the corner.
