US President Barack Obama yesterday said Congress must end its deadlock on funding to combat the Zika virus before lawmakers head out to recess later this summer.
“The good news is we feel fairly confident that we can develop an effective vaccine for Zika,” Obama said after a meeting with US health officials in the Oval Office. “The problem is right now that money is stuck in Congress.”
Obama met with the heads of the health and human services department, the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to discuss the nation’s response to the mosquito-borne virus.
Earlier this week, senate Democrats blocked a Republican proposal to provide $1.1bn in funding to combat Zika.
The Democrats and the White House said the plan fell short of Obama’s $1.9bn funding request and included measures that would take funds from other important health initiatives.
“We have not seen the House (of Representatives) and Senate come together in a sensible way to put forward the dollars that we have requested to get the job done,” Obama said. “I expect Congress to get this funding done before they adjourn, as part of their basic responsibility.”
US lawmakers typically go on recess in August to go campaign for re-election in their home districts.
Following the deadlock, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have accused each other of playing politics with the health crisis.
Zika has caused concern throughout the Americas due to an alarming rise in cases of the birth defect known as microcephaly and other severe fetal brain abnormalities linked to the virus reported in Brazil, the country hardest hit by the outbreak.
Infants with microcephaly tend to have abnormally small heads and may experience potentially disabling developmental problems.