Congress will find a way this month to pass funding to combat the Zika virus despite partisan division, House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday.
Ryan, R-Wis., didn’t provide any details on a possible bipartisan deal. Instead, he accused congressional Democrats of being “wholly partisan” in their unified opposition to a $1.1 billion deal authored by House and Senate Republicans.
Nonetheless, Ryan said the two parties would find a way to reach an agreement in September. The mosquito-transmitted virus, which causes severe birth defects, has begun to spread in South Florida.
“This is an issue we have to resolve this month,” Ryan said. “We’ll figure out how to get this done.”
Ryan plans to hold a closed-door meeting with rank-and-file Republicans on Friday to discuss a path forward. Among the ideas is a plan to attach Zika funding to a must-pass government spending bill that is expected to clear Congress by Sept. 30, the last day of the fiscal year.
Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked for the third time the GOP’s $1.1 billion Zika funding measure. Democrats want to change the legislation so the money can be used at a handful of Puerto Rican health clinics affiliated with Planned Parenthood, a women’s healthcare and abortion provider. Democrats also want fresh money, while the GOP-authored bill derives $750 billion from unspent federal funds, including more than half a billion from a long-dormant Obamacare account.
But Republican leaders in the House may have a difficult time convincing their conservative faction to agree to a bill that adds to the deficit.
“The problem is very simple, the Democrats are standing on the peoples’ throat on this,” Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., told the Washington Examiner.
