As virus fears escalate, lawmakers point fingers

FILE — In this July 12, 2016, file photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. As the Zika virus escalates into a public health crisis, members of Congress remain entrenched politically, with Republicans and Democrats pointing fingers over the failure to act as the number of mosquito-transmitted cases in the U.S. grows. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

FILE — In this July 13, 2016, file photo, Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues Chairman Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, during the subcommittee’s hearing about Zika. As the Zika virus escalates into a public health crisis, members of Congress remain entrenched politically, with Republicans and Democrats pointing fingers over the failure to act as the number of mosquito-transmitted cases in the U.S. grows. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

FILE — In this July 15, 2016 file photo, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell speak in Des Moines, Iowa. The Obama administration warned Congress Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016, that money to fight the Zika virus is on the verge of running out amid political stalemate on Capitol Hill. In a letter to key lawmakers, Burwell said the National Institutes of Health would exhaust its resources for vaccine development by month’s end. The letter from HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said that without additional money the second phase of clinical trials would be delayed, and Americans would have to wait longer for a vaccine. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

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WASHINGTON — As Zika escalates into a public health crisis and the number of mosquito-transmitted cases grows, Republicans and Democrats are pointing fingers over the failure by Congress to commit federal dollars to fight the virus.

President Barack Obama on Thursday sought to pressure congressional Republicans over the issue, encouraging voters to “call your members of Congress and tell them to do their job.”

“The money that we need to fight Zika is rapidly running out. The situation is getting critical,” Obama said at a news conference.

Yet lawmakers left Washington in mid-July for a seven-week recess without approving any of the $1.9 billion that Obama requested in February to develop a vaccine and control the mosquitoes that carry the virus.

Republicans angered Democrats by adding a provision to a $1.1 billion take-it-or-leave-it measure that would have blocked Planned Parenthood clinics in Puerto Rico from receiving money.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, writing in USA Today on Thursday, did not mention that provision in blaming Democrats for blocking the legislation. Their obstruction, according to Ryan, is “a blatant ploy in an election year.”

Also Thursday, 47 Senate Democrats called on Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, to reconvene Congress and immediately address the Zika threat.

But McConnell has signaled he is in no rush to return. Writing in the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader on Monday, he criticized Democrats for balking at passing the bill. He said they’ll get another chance after Labor Day when Congress is back in session.

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell warned lawmakers that without more money soon, the “nation’s ability to effectively respond to Zika will be impaired.” Her letter sought to counter Republicans who’ve criticized the Obama administration for not using several hundred million dollars already in the budget for Zika prevention. The money was initially allotted for fighting Ebola but was redirected to address Zika.