WASHINGTON — Senate negotiators on Tuesday moved closer to an agreement to provide at least $1.1 billion in emergency financing to combat the rapidly spreading Zika virus, which public health officials warn poses an imminent threat in the United States, but House Republicans said they were still not ready to approve additional funds.
The White House bluntly warned that Republicans were not acting quickly enough and that the needed money might not arrive before mosquitoes carrying the disease, which causes birth defects, reach the United States.
“This is an emergency,” said Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary. “The American people are counting on Congress to act. And instead, we’ve gotten bureaucratic excuses.”
The administration first requested $1.9 billion in emergency financing to combat the Zika virus in February, but was rebuffed by congressional Republican leaders who urged the administration to redirect $510 million previously allocated to fight Ebola.
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., who has led negotiations for his party, said Tuesday that his talks with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., had produced the outlines of an agreement that would provide about $1.1 billion in additional financing.
Blunt said negotiators were still discussing details, including how much money would need to be restored for work on Ebola. “I think we’re close to a plan that we think would work,” he said. “But we’d like a little more input. I’d like a little more input from the administration.”
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Senate Republican, said lawmakers understood the seriousness of the Zika threat. “We made a down payment on the work on this virus based on the Ebola funds,” he said. “And we’re going to do everything that’s necessary in a responsible way to deal with this threat because we know it’s real.”
Senate Democratic leaders, including Murray, insisted Tuesday that there was still no agreement, accused Republicans of stalling and said they were holding out for President Barack Obama’s full request of $1.9 billion.
Nearly 400 American travelers have contracted the Zika virus, and public fears are rising as health officials warn that disease-carrying mosquitoes will soon arrive.