Democrats Block Zika Funding Bill Yet Again Over Awful Planned Parenthood Terms
PoliticsUpon return from their very (very, very, very) lengthy summer break, Senate Democrats blocked a $1.1 billion Zika funding bill, which has failed yet again. This time, Democrats objected because of language that would prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving contraception funding (the virus can be sexually transmitted). Approximately 20 million women in the U.S. require subsidized family planning services from providers like Planned Parenthood.
Some fun other additions Republicans included in this emergency legislation target the Clean Water Act and protect the right to fly the Confederate flag. Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, for his part, has no idea why this didn’t work out! Not a clue! “It’s hard to explain why, despite their own calls for funding, Democrats would block plans to keep women and babies safe from Zika,” he said in a beautiful explosion of irony before the vote, according to the New York Times. The $1.1 billion bill remains considerably shy of the $1.9 billion in funding the White House requested to combat the virus, and is mostly comprised of reallocated funding from other health programs.