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Veto Threat: Obama waves his mighty pen over Zika funding bill!

Veto Threat: Obama waves his mighty pen over Zika funding bill!

Democrats are clearly more interested in gun control than mosquito control.

While Democratic members of Congress built a pillow fort on the floor of the House to oppose gun rights, the Republicans continued their work on behalf of the American people.

At about 1 am on Thursday, while drowned out by cries of “Shame! Shame! Shame!” from Democrats and partially blocked from C-SPAN’s cameras by protest signs, Ryan held some procedural votes on when the House would reconvene to vote on emergency funding to address the Zika virus. The votes were held at 2:30 am, and the Zika bill passed.

The need for a robust response to Zika is becoming more evident each day, as reports of more outbreaks in this country continue to mount.

In the Dallas area, ten pregnant women are showing signs of being infected with the pathogen (which can cause significant birth defects).

Dallas County Health and Human Services said Tuesday that there are nearly a dozen total cases in North Texas, CBS Dallas-Fort Worth reported, but none were contracted in the U.S.

…The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will not confirm any diagnosis publicly until after the babies are born. The federal health agency confirmed in April that the Zika virus can cause a birth defect called microcephaly — an underdeveloped brain at birth. It’s the first time in history a virus transmitted by mosquito bite has been found to cause birth defects.

From Ohio comes a report of its first case of sexually transmitted Zika:

A 61-year-old Lucas County woman infected with Zika virus by her husband is the state’s first sexually-transmitted case of the mosquito-borne virus.

The woman’s husband traveled to a country with active Zika transmission, according to a release from the Ohio Department of Health. It’s the state’s 15th travel-associated case, and the woman’s husband’s case brings the state total to 16.

Furthermore, scientists have just discovered that people previously stricken with Dengue fever (which has plagued Hawaii recently) are more vulnerable to Zika.

However, despite the increasing evidence that this nation is facing an unprecedented public health crisis, President Obama is threatening the bill with his mighty pen:

The White House Thursday promised that President Barack Obama would veto the long-delayed response of the Republican-controlled Congress to the president’s request for fighting the Zika virus, saying it provided too little money and contained too many partisan provisions.

The $1.1 billion measure had already appeared sure to die in the Senate next at the hands of filibustering Democrats backing Obama’s $1.9 billion request and opposing spending cuts that House Republicans added to the measure.

Trims to the Obamacare and Planned Parenthood budgets are the terms angering the Democrats:

The bill would cut $543 million in unused funds from the implementation of Obamacare, $107 million from leftover funds used to fight Ebola, and $100 million in administrative funds from the Health and Human Services Department. Democrats also were angered by a provision that would block supplemental funds from going to Planned Parenthood for birth control services for women at risk of becoming infected with the Zika virus.

The bill that passed set aside $230 million for the National Institutes of Health to develop a vaccine and $476 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help pay for mosquito control efforts. In other words, Obama will veto the Zika funding bill because it focuses too much on mosquito control and not enough on progressive special interests.

Yep…that sounds about right.

It is deeply disturbing that in an era when America is again facing the specter of an insect-spread epidemic, the Democrats are more interested in gun control than mosquito control.

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Comments

…the Democrats are more interested in gun control than mosquito control.

…the Democrats are more interested in gun control than mosquito control.

FTFY

    MattMusson in reply to rinardman. | June 24, 2016 at 9:20 am

    Don’t forget Global Warming. When unused Ebola funds were transferred over for ZIKA – Obama sent $450 million to the UN to fight Global warming.

    All Obama wants to do is use ZIKA as a slush fund. He will send money to urban community organizations for ZIKA education. And all the community organizers will get brand new leased LEXUS convertibles.

    Hey, I loved that sentence! Besides, I would clearly argue the Democrats have no interest in border control or immigration control! 😀

As Barry’s final year plays out, a competent republican leadership & party could own the gummer, geriatric Dems & their crybaby petulant president. Properly played the pep rally media could be exposed for the enabler manipulative bunch of fellow travelers they’ve always been.
There’s that word “competent” paired with “republican” again. Which guarantees another republican cock up.
Guaranteed. The only question is how will McConnell, Ryan grab defeat from the jaws of victory this time.
And why do some of you “principled conservative’s” continue to insist republican party “integrity” & methods must be honored & protected.

“Unused funds”?

So the feds borrow money—adding to the mountainous debt—to make funding available for non-use.

That’s a bit weird, even for government.

    I don’t think that’s correct. Unless Congress authorizes the government to borrow X dollars for such-and-such, the government can’t borrow it. The authority to borrow X dollars doesn’t mean it was actually borrowed. But, it’s still budgeted as money borrowed and spent until that authority is changed because the government could still exercise that authority.

    So, the money need never have changed hands from the banks to Uncle Sam. But, until Congress changes what it has authorized, that money counts against the budget cap.

Democrats also were angered by a provision that would block supplemental funds from going to Planned Parenthood for birth control services for women at risk of becoming infected with the Zika virus. </blockquote.

Insisting on more money for research, and not agreeing to cuts to birth control services when fetuses are most at risk, are pertinent reasons to send the bill back to Congress.

“…
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.”

-John Donne

stevewhitemd | June 24, 2016 at 10:32 am

Recall that Obama moved $500 million in previously-allotted money for Zika to the UN for Climate Control (the UN hired more apparatchiks from the ranks of 3rd born European sons and daughters, and bought more white Toyota Land Cruisers).

What stops Mr. Obama from transferring the new Zika money to some other cause? Congress? Hah.

    You hit the nail on the head right there… this is the story that needs to be told on the Zika funding issue. But instead the media dutifully drops to their knees.

    stevewhitemd: Recall that Obama moved $500 million in previously-allotted money for Zika to the UN for Climate Control

    That is incorrect. The money was allocated for bilateral aid, and not previously allocated for Zika. However, the Obama Administration did move money from the fight against Ebola, but those commitments are still necessary and outstanding.

      rabidfox in reply to Zachriel. | June 24, 2016 at 3:52 pm

      Zachriel – he moved those funds to the UN for the climate change hoax.

        Contrary to the claim, the funds weren’t allocated for fighting Zika.

          Paul in reply to Zachriel. | June 24, 2016 at 5:56 pm

          I think you’re right, but the general point remains valid. There was a bucket of money allocated that the president could have directed towards Zika research “at the stroke of his pen” but instead he chose to spend in on a unicorn-fart-sniffing boondoggle at the UN. Then he proceeded to stomp his foot like the little bitch that he is demanding more money. The Republicans have, thus far, rightly told him to go fuck himself. But of course they’ll wind up caving, because that’s what they do. And the children, and stuff.

Can’t wait till this clown is out of power – so as to treat h him and his fake wife like sh-t to their faces.

Paul: There was a bucket of money allocated that the president could have directed towards Zika research “at the stroke of his pen”

The money sent to the U.N. is to be allocated to developing countries to help them modernize their energy infrastructures. That counts as bilateral aid under the law. Spending money on scientific research at U.S. facilities, which is what is need to combat Zika, is not “bilateral aid”. But if it feels truthy, then go for it.

“We’re not talking about truth, we’re talking about something that seems like truth – the truth we want to exist” — Stephen Colbert