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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (May 11, 2016)
May 11, 2016 The Skanner Page 9 News By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press WASHINGTON — The White House and Dem- ocrats are pressuring congressional Republi- cans to act on President Barack Obama’s demands for money to combat Zika, but even the onset of mosquito season that probably will spread the virus has failed to create a sense of urgency. Republicans from states at greatest risk, such as Florida, Texas, Louisiana and Geor- gia, have been slow to endorse Obama’s more than 2-month-old request for $1.9 billion to battle the virus, which caus- es grave birth defects. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently reports more than 470 cases in the con- tinental U.S., all so far associated with travel to “ Syrian refugees were er- roneously linked to the attack. “Any time there’s a public health issue, bor- dering on crisis, there’s obviously some urgen- cy,” said Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., who’s running to replace Republican Sen. Marco Rubio. Jolly add- ed, however, that “I don’t know that it has become a political issue in Flor- ida as much as it has in- side the Beltway.” One voice for immedi- ate action, however, is Rubio, who’s leaving the Senate after his unsuc- cessful presidential bid. “It is just a matter of days, weeks, hours be- fore you open up a news- paper or turn on the news, and it will say that someone in the conti- nental United States was bitten by a mosquito and they contracted Zika,” Rubio said in an April 28 “But we want to make sure we’re not writing blank checks.” One reason for the slow pace may be Ebola, which affected far fewer people but created more public fear than Zika has. The Ebola panic proved to be unjustified and was con- tained to just a handful of U.S. cases A poll in March by the Kaiser Family Founda- tion found by a more t han 2-to-1 margin that respondents said the government is doing enough to fight Zika. But an October 2014 Kaiser poll on Ebola found that only about half of re- spondents thought the government was doing enough. Just 34 percent of those polled on Zika were worried that someone in their family would be affected by the virus, versus 65 percent who ‘Sometimes the wheels of Congress move very slowly,’ Cornyn said. ‘But we want to make sure we’re not writing blank checks’ Zika-affected areas. Polls show that the pub- lic isn’t anywhere nearly as scared of Zika as it was about the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and the handful of cases in the U.S. in 2014. Aides to GOP lawmakers, even those representing Southern areas most vulnera- ble to Zika, say they’ve yet to hear from many anxious constituents, though they said this could change. “Very few calls/letters,” emailed a spokeswoman for Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla. On Monday, the Nation- al Governors Associat- ed weighed in, urging the administration and lawmakers returning to Washington “to work together to reach agree- ment on the appropriate funding levels needed to prepare for and combat the Zika virus.” The congressional re- sponse to Zika contrasts sharply with the rush last year to pass legisla- tion to curb the admis- sion of Syrian refugees, which passed the House less than a week after terrorist attacks in Paris. floor speech. “When that happens, everyone is go- ing to be freaked out .... This is going to happen.” Rubio also has ap- pealed for congressional action to aid debt-ridden Puerto Rico, another unresolved issue as law- makers return to Wash- ington on Monday for a brief, three-week May congressional session. The House may act on legislation to combat opi- oid abuse and perhaps belatedly pass a budget while the Senate strug- gles to make headway on the annual spending bills after a dispute over last year’s Iran nuclear deal enveloped a popular en- ergy and water projects measure. Thus far, Rubio’s ur- gency on Zika is not widely shared, though Sen. John Cornyn of Tex- as, the No. 2 Republican, drew attention when he told reporters in Hous- ton last month that “the risk of underreacting is really too high to take any chances.” “Sometimes the wheels of Congress move very slowly,” Cornyn said. Make The Skanner part of your daily routine were not worried; the comparable figures on Ebola showed 45 per- cent worried someone in their family would get sick from Ebola, versus 54 percent who were not worried. In addition, Congress approved $5 billion to battle Ebola in 2014 and perhaps half of that mon- ey is unspent, though the administration has designs to use it to help other lesser developed countries build up their health care systems. The threat of Ebola has not been wholly snuffed out. In April, the adminis- tration bowed to pres- sure from Republicans and diverted almost $600 million in previously approved funds, includ- ing more than $500 mil- lion in remaining Ebola money, toward fighting Zika. That has bought time for Republicans to seek greater details and potentially respond to Obama’s request by in- cluding Zika funds in an upcoming spending bill that could be delivered to the president before Con- gress recesses in mid-Ju- AP PHOTO/RICARDO MAZALAN, FILE Mosquito Season Brings No Urgency for Money to Fight Zika In this Feb. 11, 2016 file photo of aedes aegypti mosquitoes are seen in a mosquito cage at a laboratory in Cucuta, Colombia. The White House and Democrats are pressuring congressional Republicans to act on President Barack Obama’s demands for money to combat the Zika virus, but even the onset of mosquito season sure to spread the virus has failed to create a sense of urgency. ly for seven weeks. One option is adding the mon- ey to a popular measure funding politically sacro- sanct veterans programs. “We are still waiting for answers from the administration to basic questions, such as what is needed right now, over the next five months to fight Zika,” Crenshaw said. Just one other GOP law- maker, Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan, has endorsed Obama’s $1.9 billion re- quest. “Instead of work- ing together to protect Americans, Washington has descended into an- other partisan fight,” Bu- chanan said. Still, it’s clear the White House won’t get anything approaching its $1.9 billion request for emergency money to bat- tle Zika. Senate Republi- cans privately floated a $1.1 billion Zika-fighting measure, but House Re- publicans are likely to press for a lesser amount — and require offsetting spending cuts elsewhere in the budget, an idea that the administration has not ruled out. We honor the many accomplishments of African Americans. It is our primary goal as a labor union to better the lives of all people working in the building trades through advocacy, civil demonstration, and the long-held belief that workers deserve a “family wage” - fair pay for an honest day’s work. A family wage, and the benefits that go with it, not only strengthens families, but also allows our communities to become stronger, more cohesive, and more responsive to their citizens’ needs. Our family wage agenda reflects our commitment to people working in the building trades, and to workers everywhere. In this small way, we are doing our part to help people achieve the American Dream. 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