The top House Democrat offered no indication Monday that lawmakers will be able to break a gridlock over emergency funding to fight the Zika virus, which is spreading in Florida and has infected more than 2,500 people in the U.S.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi blamed the standstill on Republicans. The GOP passed a Zika funding bill which Senate Democrats filibustered over objections to its funding offsets and how the dollars are funneled.
Despite Republicans passing the bill and Democrats filibustering it, Pelosi said, “It wasn’t the Senate Democrats who blocked it. It was the insistence of the Republicans that Zika, which is a sexually transmitted disease, they’re saying whatever we do, no resources can go for contraception.”
In fact, there’s no language in the Zika bill blocking funds from being used for contraception, but Democrats are irked that it doesn’t provide a funding stream which could be accessed by a handful of Planned Parenthood clinics in Puerto Rico.
Lawmakers also disagreed over a number of other questions, including the size of the $1.1 billion package — as President Obama had requested $1.9 billion — and whether to offset it. Republicans said the package must be paid for, but Democrats said that wasn’t necessary as it was funding for a public health crisis.
It’s unclear whether Congress will be able to reach an agreement, as lawmakers return to Washington this week. Pelosi said lawmakers should pass a Zika funding bill, but didn’t say how that might be possible.
“In February, Obama asked Congress for resources to fight a public health emergency,” she said. “Hopefully Congress will honor its responsibilities to the American people.”
