Amid word that the U.S. Senate may be on funding to combat Zika, Hawaii’s senators are demanding聽action.
Earlier this week, Democrat聽Mazie Hirono and Patty Murray (D-WA) called on Senate Republicans “to stop stalling critical federal funding” to fight the Zika virus, according聽to her office.
President Obama made聽an emergency funding request to Congress in February.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been nearly four months since the Senate overwhelmingly passed a compromise measure that would fund the fight against Zika,鈥 Hirono said in a press release. 鈥淪ince then, it has become clear that Congressional Republicans would rather limit access to family planning services 鈥 which puts millions more women at risk of contracting Zika and giving birth to a child with microcephaly 鈥 than ensure that we are fully prepared to combat this disease.鈥
On Friday, Democrat聽Brian Schatz and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) sent a letter signed by 27 Senate colleagues (including Hirono) to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) “urging him to bring the $1.1 billion Zika funding legislation passed by the Senate to the House floor for a vote.”
According to Schatz’s office, there are now more than 18,000 cases of Zika in the United States and its territories.
鈥淶ika is now well established in the United States with cases of local transmission by mosquitoes being reported in multiple areas of Florida, as well as the U.S. territories,鈥 the senators wrote. 鈥淲hile babies die, pregnant women and communities suffer, adults worry about future long-term neurological risks from Zika, and U.S. service members and military bases are affected, Congress remains deadlocked in partisan politics. Now is the time to lead and to show the American people that Congress will act to protect them.鈥
There are more than 18000 cases of Zika in the US & $0 funding from Congress. , give Zika funding a vote
鈥 Senator Brian Schatz (@SenBrianSchatz)
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Chad Blair is the politics editor for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at cblair@civilbeat.org or follow him on X at .