Zika Spreads And GOP Congress Does Nothing

The number of Zika cases continues to grow in South Florida and has now spread to the popular tourist destination of Miami Beach. And now the renowned Dr. Anthony Fauci of the CDC is warning about the spread of the disease into other Gulf States such as Texas and the flood-stricken Louisiana. “It would not be surprising we would see additional cases perhaps in other Gulf Coast states”, said Fauci.  Zika has already infected more than 10,000 people in the United States and is known to cause microcephaly, a birth defect that is indicated by small head size and creates significant developmental problems. More worrying, however, is new research that indicates Zika may attack brain stem cells in adults, potentially reducing brain size and brain functioning.

Meanwhile, the Republican-led Congress insists on doing nothing. Republicans were not able to agree among themselves as to how much many to spend on Zika prevention and, when they finally did, they also loaded up the bill with poison-pill amendments that kept it from passing. They then adjourned for the summer recess, having done nothing to confront Zika. Scientists had been warning of the threat of Zika to the continental US since late last year, but Republicans could not get their act together to do anything about it. Rather than perhaps bringing Congress back from their extended summer vacation and actually allocating some resources to fight the virus, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested that HHS could divert some money that is being used to help boost Obamacare enrollments in order to fight Zika. That really takes some nerve, considering Congress’ lack of action on the issue. And, as HHS points out, transferring that money would be technically illegal as the Obamacare money is in an entirely separate budget. HHS has already had to move money earmarked for a vaccine for the virus into prevention programs.

This is yet another indication of a party totally adrift. It now seems as though Republicans only care that fetuses do not get aborted. When it comes to serious birth defects and other pre-natal care, Republicans couldn’t care less. They won’t even spend a dime on doing anything to prevent a serious virus from sweeping across the Gulf and infecting thousands of Americans. They would rather try to score a political point than actually take on the responsibility of governing. In addition, despite their continual lip-service to fiscal responsibility, the babies born with microcephaly and its resulting developmental problems will probably require many millions of government dollars of support throughout their lives, probably much more that the money spent on prevention today. Finally, Florida and even, incredibly, Texas are both swing states this year. Democrats should pound away on their GOP opponents every time Zika expands in another district and state. Sure, Republicans will probably pass a bill in time for the election, but that money will not reach the states until then end of the year at the earliest. For all those who are unfortunately infected until then, they should know that Republicans don’t really care.