As Zika arrives in U.S., Dems who blocked funding over Planned Parenthood demand action

The first four cases of Zika transmitted directly by infected mosquitoes inside the United States were announced Friday by the Florida Department of Health. CNN reports:

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“While no mosquitoes trapped tested positive for the Zika virus, the department believes these cases were likely transmitted through infected mosquitoes in this area,” according to a statement from the Florida Department of Health.

“As we anticipated, Zika is here,” Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday, adding that “all the evidence we have seen indicates that this is mosquito-borne transmission that occurred several weeks ago.”…

Officials believe the local transmission is confined to a small area north of downtown Miami within a single ZIP code.

Now that the disease has arrived, Democrats are demanding the GOP hold an emergency session of congress to pass new funding.

There’s just one problem with this fresh outrage from Democrats. They are the ones who blocked the Zika funding bill last month knowing congress was about to leave town for a month. Why did they do this? Because the GOP bill cut Planned Parenthood out of the Zika funding. From the Wall Street Journal:

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The bill, which Republicans wrote and pushed through the House on June 23 in the midst of the Democrats’ sit-in on the House floor over gun control, would direct $1.1 billion to research the virus, develop a vaccine, and give certain health-care providers money to respond to an expected influx of patients. The measure would direct the money through hospitals and public health clinics as opposed to women’s health clinics such as those operated by Planned Parenthood.

Harry Reid said Democrats had no choice but to oppose the bill. From the Washington Post:

On Monday, Reid called the bill “nothing more than a goodie bag for the fringes of the Republican Party.” The White House has threatened to veto the legislation, and Democrats argue the additions were politically motivated and intended to kill the entire funding package.

“It’s like we’re being dared to oppose this legislation,” Reid said. “We have no choice.”

Democrats have tried to portray the Zika funding as an emergency but when it came down to it they were more concerned about making sure their friends at Planned Parenthood got a cut than making sure the funding was passed.

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