WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday blocked a $1.1 billion bill to combat the Zika virus, giving Congress just two weeks to try to reach a new deal before lawmakers leave for a seven-week recess in the midst of mosquito season and a growing public health crisis, USA Today reports.
Senators voted 52-48 to advance the bill, falling eight votes short of the 60 needed. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., immediately made a motion to reconsider the vote, raising the possibility of another vote on the same bill next week.
The bill, passed by the House at about 3 a.m. Thursday with no debate, would have cut $750 million from other health programs to fund anti-Zika efforts. The bill also would have cut $543 million in unused funds from the implementation of Obamacare, $107 million from leftover funds used to fight Ebola, and $100 million in administrative funds from the Health and Human Services Department.
The legislation would have provided $230 million for the National Institutes of Health to develop a vaccine and $476 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help pay for mosquito control efforts.
President Obama asked Congress in February to provide $1.9 billion to fight the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne illness that can cause devastating birth defects.
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Source: USA Today