Ryan: There is no Zika funding shortage

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Washington Examiner:

The White House has plenty of funds to fight the Zika virus without Congress giving President Obama his funding request, the office of House Speaker Paul Ryan wrote Tuesday.

 

"Put simply: There is no funding shortage. There never has been," Ryan staffer Doug Andres wrote, in a pointed criticism of the White House and Democrats, who are pressing for a $1.9 billion allocation to fight the virus, which causes severe defects in newborns and is expected to spread throughout the U.S. this summer.

 

House Republicans already have provided for sufficient mitigation efforts by urging the White House to use leftover Ebola funds, passing a bill encouraging a vaccine or treatment for Zika, approving paid-for legislation providing an additional $622 million and going into conference with the Senate to work out a compromise on funding, Andres wrote.

 

Democrats who criticize Republicans for not approving Obama's full funding request are politicizing a public health crisis, Ryan's office said.