Funding for the Zika virus is likely still weeks away as House and Senate GOP leaders work out major differences in their separate bills.
The House and Senate are on a collision course over funding to deal with the rapidly spreading outbreak as they both moved forward with separate legislation on Tuesday.
In the Senate, Republicans worked with Democrats to craft a bill with $1.1 billion in new funding to fight Zika. That measure advanced in the upper chamber on Tuesday by a vote of 68-29. But the House is on a different page, with Republicans on Monday unveiling legislation with $622 million in fully offset funding.
Lawmakers said Tuesday they expect GOP leadership to ultimately appoint a conference committee to resolve the differences – the amount of money, whether that money is offset and the timeline of the bill.
Democrats are also calling for Zika funding to be a standalone bill. The Senate is now attaching it to a broader spending bill that could take months to complete – and has already drawn a veto threat from the White House. https://bit.ly/1swaBpn
Senators voted 68-29 to move forward with $1.1 billion in new funding for the Zika virus – just under half of the $1.9 billion requested by the Obama administration to control the virus.
Top Democrats spent days criticizing the smaller figure — though it was partially crafted by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) — but ultimately conceded they would support it because it was better than nothing. “If your ship is sinking and you need 12 lifeboats but you can only get six, you take six,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said.
The agreement Murray crafted with Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) also split Republicans. Though Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) supported it, conservatives balked over concerns that it isn’t paid for. https://bit.ly/1Oypgo5
White House rejects House House GOP’s Zika funding package
The Obama administration jumped into the House GOP’s funding battle over the Zika virus on Tuesday, threatening to veto a $622 million funding package that’s about one-third of what it asked for.
White House officials called the House GOP’s package “woefully inadequate to support the response our public health experts say is needed.”
Officials did not take a formal position on the Senate’s bipartisan package of $1.1 billion, which was advanced on Tuesday. https://bit.ly/1Tm9aUa
House fails to pass EPA pesticide bill rebranded as Zika bill
A bill to loosen environmental regulations in the name of combating the Zika virus failed to pass the House on Tuesday. The bill, called the Zika Vector Control Act, was known as the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act until late last week.
House GOP leaders brought up the measure under a fast-track process typically reserved for non-controversial legislation. The bill failed, 262-159. More about the bill here: https://bit.ly/1Tmg5eN
Trump promises GOP senators: ObamaCare will be rallying point
Donald Trump and Senate GOP leaders say they agree on at least one thing – ObamaCare is going to be a central point in this fall’s election.
In a closed-door meeting with the Senate GOP last Thursday, Trump said the still unpopular healthcare law could help Republicans up and down the ballot this fall.
Trump said he believes the administration is so afraid of rising health insurance premiums that officials might try to push back open enrollment until after the elections. https://bit.ly/1V7IdVh
ON TAP TOMORROW
Public Citizen holds a briefing to condemn partisan riders on this year’s appropriations bills. The briefing includes officials from Planned Parenthood and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
WHAT WE’RE READING
Pfizer Inc announced a $5.2 billion takeover of Anacor Pharmaceuticals, a potential sign that the company is turning to its drug portfolio after its overseas deal with Allergan fell through. (Reuters)
Democrats are attacking the House GOP’s Planned Parenthood investigation by comparing its tactics to that of former Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his attempted Communist crackdown. (Washington Post)
The U.S. Patent and Trademark office will review a petition from Coherus BioSciences to make a copy of AbbVie Inc’s top-selling arthritis drug Humira. (Reuters)
Medical students are demanding better training on opioid prescribing after several schools, including Harvard, rejected guidance from the White House on the issue. (STAT News)
If the House GOP wins its most recent ObamaCare lawsuit, the Obama administration warned it could “inevitably lead to increased premiums,” according to court documents. (New York Times)
IN THE STATES
Twenty-one out of 25 metro areas with the highest levels of HIV diagnosis in gay and bisexual men are in the South (Associated Press)
Oklahoma Republicans are considering doing an about-face on Medicaid expansion. (Associated Press)
Doctors with Medicaid patients in Kansas are on notice after Republican Gov. Sam Brownback began eying the program for budget cuts. (Topeka Capital-Journal)
ICYMI FROM THE HILL
House Democrats gave mixed reviews to the Obama administration’s controversial cost-cutting plan for Medicare part B during a highly anticipated hearing on Tuesday. https://bit.ly/1TWzFvp
In the newest data on U.S. healthcare coverage, the uninsured rate fell to a record low of 9.1 percent in 2015, according to a new survey https://bit.ly/1qs2Gr3
