House Republicans introduce $622 million Zika bill

House Republicans propose new Zika bill.

(Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

published 16 May 2016

House Republicans introduced a bill Monday that would direct an additional $622 million to fighting the Zika virus, The Hill reports. The funding bill, which the House Appropriations Committee said is paid for in part by leftover money allocated to addressing Ebola, comes amid mounting pressure from congressional Democrats and the White House.

Republican legislators had initially planned to wait and address Zika funding next year. The House is expected to vote on the bill this week. In February, President Obama called for $1.9 billion in Zika funding.

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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.