Democrats Block Zika Funding Bill

“Democrats block Zika funding bill, blame GOP,” reports Politico. “Senate Democrats rejected the GOP funding measure on Tuesday, 52-48, arguing that it would rob Obamacare of funding.” They also complain that it would provide some $800 million less than the Obama administration is requesting, although their objection means that “they are set to vote against a bill at funding levels they’ve already agreed to” in the past.

There were other ways of fighting Zika than passing a new spending bill, but the federal government declined to use them. The Obama administration illegally diverted money that could have been used to fight Zika to the UN’s Green Climate Fund. It also made it harder to fight Zika through red tape restricting chemical use.

The federal government has also thwarted new technologies against Zika. For example, former New York Lieutenant Governor Betsy McCaughey, who chairs the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths, says it is fostering Zika’s spread through anti-science policies: “Tragically, Obama’s Food and Drug Administration is delaying the release of genetically modified mosquitoes to kill Zika-carrying bugs. Pandering to eco-radicals. Even though the World Health Organization endorses this new technology, which can wipe out 90 percent of Zika mosquitoes in months.”