(WJBC file photo)
By Eric Stock
WASHINGTON D.C. – Funding for the Zika virus remains at the center of a congressional budget battle as a government shutdown looms. And Planned Parenthood is at the center of the Zika debate.
Congressman Rodney Davis said the House-led bill that takes funding away from two Planned Parenthood clinics in Puerto Rico should not be holding up funding needed to combat Zika.
PODCAST: Listen to Scott’s interview with Davis on WJBC.
“I hate to break it to the Senate Democrats the clinic the one that exists in Puerto Rico isn’t even a qualified clinic for Medicaid reimbursement, so they wouldn’t be eligible for federal funding anyway,” Davis said. “So this is a game.”
Davis said he expects Congress will pass a funding measure next week. The funding Zika funding runs out at the end of the month. He’s calling for $600 million for Zika, matching what’s already being spent.
“For two months $600 million sat unspent while the Senate Democrats were talking about how Republicans weren’t addressing Zika,” Davis said. “It drives me crazy we have this debate when the facts are the facts.”
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
