Partisan Bickering Persists On Hill Over Zika Funding
Neither side shows any evidence of caving, so it's unlikely the funding will be approved before Congress leaves for a seven-week recess. Meanwhile, KHN talks with the man at the center of the country's response to the outbreak.
The Hill:
Reid, McConnell Spar Over Zika Funding
The Senate's Republican and Democratic leaders battled Monday over funding to fight the Zika virus, a clear sign that lawmakers have yet to break a stalemate days ahead of a seven-week recess. Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) tried to bring up the Senate's original deal — spearheaded by Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) — that would provide $1.1 billion in funding. (Carney, 7/11)
Kaiser Health News:
NIH’s Fauci On Combating Zika: ‘You Have To Have The Resources To Act Quickly’
Every day there are headlines about the Zika virus. The number of travel-related cases is growing, and public health officials — especially in states such as Florida, which could be among the hardest hit — predict it is only a matter of time until the first locally transmitted case is confirmed. They are scrambling to prepare strategies to combat Zika’s spread. On the research front, at least one private pharmaceutical company is slated to begin human trials on a Zika vaccine in the fall, and National Institutes of Health researchers hope to bring their version to clinical trials as soon as summer’s end. ... At the center is Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. (Heredia Rodriguez, 7/12)
