Republicans balk at Zika virus fund request

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At least one prominent Republican says the Obama administration doesn’t need the $1.8 billion it has requested to address the Zika virus, reasoning that the government has leftover funds from its anti-Ebola efforts that it can redirect to Zika prevention programs.

“If the aim of the request is to mount as rapid a response as possible, it is clear to us that the most expeditious way to identify the needed funding is to maximize the use of unobligated funds previously provided for Ebola response, prevention, and preparedness,” wrote Rep. Hal Rogers, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, in a letter to the administration. “These funds can and should be prioritized to meet the most pressing needs of mounting a rapid and full response to Zika.”