House To Vote On Scaled-Back Zika Bill Despite Obama Veto Threat
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WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans controlling the House are ignoring protests from Democrats and a White House veto threat as they speed legislation funding the battle against the Zika virus toward a vote.
The $622 million GOP plan would provide one-third of the resources requested three months ago by President Barack Obama to combat the virus, which can cause severe birth defects and other health problems. It is "paid for" with cuts elsewhere in the budget, including unspent funds from the successful fight against Ebola.
Wednesday's scheduled House vote would follow a bipartisan 68-29 Senate tally on a $1.1 billion measure to fight Zika through September 2017.
Republicans say the administration has padded its Zika request and that there is plenty of unspent money to help reduce its negative impact on the budget deficit.
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