Emergency supplemental financing to fight the Zika virus appears to be delayed after the Senate failed to overcome a Democrat filibuster of a $1.1 billion compromise measure negotiated between House and Senate Republicans. Democrats rejected the House-passed proposal, objecting to provisions that redirect $750 million of the $1.1 billion from other programs, including from an ACA program and a fund set up to fight Ebola in 2014. Senate Democrats are also dismayed by a decision to exclude $50 million in requested funds for maternal and child health and a provision that blocks supplemental funds from going to Planned Parenthood for birth control services. Additionally, the House-passed measure provides significantly less than the $1.9 billion requested by the Obama Administration.
House Republicans hailed the compromise language, highlighting the approximately $750 million taxpayer dollars that will be saved thanks to the use of offsets and applauding the limitations placed on the use of funds as "strong oversight controls on the use of every dollar." After the Senate rejected the measure, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) repeatedly said no changes would be made to the bill.
Takeaway: It is not immediately clear how congressional leaders might resolve the impasse, or when the federal money for Zika would ultimately be approved. Look for the Zika funding measures to remain a key issue when Congress returns to Washington for the first two weeks of July.
