The White House accused Republicans on Wednesday of allowing their opposition to President Obama to lead them to oppose additional funding to fight the Zika virus, and warned that this decision will lead to “alarm bells” going off in the U.S. this summer as the virus spreads north when warmer weather hits.
“I guess at some point [Republicans] are going to have to choose whether their animosity for president Obama trumps their desire to help pregnant women in their states fight this disease,” Earnest told reporters as his daily press briefing.
While Earnest accused Republicans of making the issue political, Republicans have said they are balking at the idea of new funding because they want him to use the leftover funds available to fight Ebola, which are available immediately, in order to provide an immediate response.
On Wednesday, the administration announced that it would do just that, and said it would use $510 million in leftover Ebola funding to fight the Zika virus. Ebola funding made up the largest part of the $589 million the White House dedicated to the Zika fight.
Republicans applauded the move and said they would continue to assess the changing needs of the government response to the virus to assure the necessary resources are in place.
“We will look carefully at the details of today’s proposal by the administration to ensure the best and most effective use of these funds, and to provide proper oversight,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., and several other panel members said in a statement.
“As we move forward, the Appropriations Committee will continue to monitor the changing needs resulting from this unpredictable crisis to assure the resources necessary for the response are available,” they said.
Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., also praised the administration’s decision to use existing funds to respond to the Zika virus outbreak, which he said mirrors a bill he wrote in February. He said Congress should keep close watch on the issue and respond quickly to expand mosquito control programs and speed development of a vaccine.
“The number of Zika cases keeps growing,” he said. “The mosquito-borne virus represents a growing health threat to Florida and the country so I’m hopeful this targeted funding will help stop its spread.”
Florida has 80 confirmed cases of Zika, and 312 cases have been confirmed in the United States, Buchanan pointed out, citing the Centers of Disease Control. The virus is linked to the development of abnormally small heads in newborns – a birth defect called microcephaly.
But the White House also urged Congress to approve more than $1.3 billion more to reach the $1.8 billion Obama had requested earlier this year to fight Zika.
Shaun Donovan, director of the Office of Management and Budget, told reporters Wednesday that existing funds are not near enough to support a “comprehensive response.”
Earnest amplified those comments, and said this is a rare moment in which the federal government can anticipate the spread of a disease and work to prevent it.
“The president regrets that Congress hasn’t taken these steps to fight something we know is coming,” he said. “…The administration is fighting hard just to get Congress to fulfill it’s basic function.”
Earnest said the federal government needs the extra funds to work with state and local governments to start expanding lab capacity in order to track the virus, develop better diagnostics and vaccines and to stockpile necessary resources to fight the disease, among other steps.
