Congress is poised for an epic failure in its efforts to combat Zika before lawmakers leave Washington for a seven-week vacation — and it could come back to bite Republicans at the ballot box if there’s an outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus in the United States this summer.

Senate Democrats rejected the GOP funding measure on Tuesday, 52-48, arguing that it would rob Obamacare of funding, impose new restrictions on Planned Parenthood and provide some $800 million less than the Obama administration is seeking. They’re also miffed that the measure, part of legislation to finance the Veterans Affairs Department, would allow the Confederate flag to fly at veterans cemeteries.


The stalemate carries real political risk: In 2014, Republicans blasted the Obama administration and Democrats’ response to Ebola, contributing to a public perception in the midterm election of feckless Democratic rule. Republicans gained control of the Senate that year — but now find their playbook is being used against them.

Republicans “taught us with Ebola,” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). “A public health crisis? Take it seriously. I don’t believe they’ve taken it seriously at all.”

The attack ads this time write themselves: Faced with months of dire warnings from health experts, the Republicans who control Congress failed to provide money to stop the spread of Zika to the United States. Bracing for such a message, Republicans began the week spinning the expected defeat of the House-passed bill as politics as usual for Democrats, alleging that the minority party would rather attack Republicans over the issue than pass a funding bill.

Indeed, in the short term, Democrats are more open to criticism: After clamoring for new Zika funding for months, they are set to vote against a bill at funding levels they’ve already agreed to. They’ve offered myriad objections: That the bill is paid for irresponsibly, inordinately relaxes clean water regulations and was constructed with no Democratic input. On Tuesday morning, Planned Parenthood wrote all Senate offices opposing the bill, arguing that "a vote against this bill will be seen as a vote for women’s health care."

“The first TV picture of an American woman bearing a child with a birth defect caused by this virus will be on [Democrats],” said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas). “I wouldn’t want to be in their position.”

Democrats are now calling for the GOP to reopen the Zika negotiations entirely, but Republicans say there will be no do-over: Once the bill fails on Tuesday, the Senate will not revisit Zika funding, Cornyn said. They say Democrats got what they wanted and won’t take yes for the answer.

But given the history on legislative impasses, Democrats are betting that the majority party will be held responsible by voters.

“They have to be responsible. It falls on Republicans,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a Senate leader and former top campaign strategist. “We’re just supposed to say yes? That’s not how we do things responsibly around here.”

The stalemate comes in the midst of the summer mosquito season, when the Zika threat is strongest. So far, there has been no local transmission of the Zika virus in the continental United States. But federal health officials warn that it is coming, this summer or in the future. The virus has been scientifically proven to potentially cause microcephaly, a severe brain abnormality, when a woman is infected during pregnancy. The Centers for Disease Control lists eye problems, hearing loss and slow growth as other birth defects caused by the virus.

Health officials don’t know exactly how strong the link is between Zika and microcephaly, but studies indicate up to a 13 percent chance that a woman infected with Zika can give birth to a baby with the severe birth defect. Already, there are 265 pregnant women in the continental United States with the virus; all of them got the virus while in other countries or through sex with a man who had it.

Given those dire statistics, the lack of congressional action is alarming, said Cindy Pellegrini, a lobbyist for March of Dimes, which advocates for maternal and fetal health. She said the GOP’s bill was “doomed from the start.”

“We have a hard time imagining an issue that could be more of an emergency than an infectious disease transmitted by mosquitoes that destroys babies’ brains in utero,” Pellegrini said. “The package looked like it was not designed to be successful and that was deeply troubling for us.”

The impasse began in the House. Democrats held the floor for more than a day last week to advocate for more gun control legislation. Eager to end what he deemed a “publicity stunt,” House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) moved to pass Zika legislation in the middle of the night last week and recess the House until after July 4, leaving Democrats who had withdrawn from the bicameral negotiations with a bill they say they could not support.

No Democrats signed the bicameral conference report on Zika funding and just six supported the House legislation. But the failure to complete the negotiations with Republicans is on Democrats, GOP leaders say. AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Ryan, said Democrats’ opposition is “not only irresponsible but dangerous.”

“It’s really bad politics for them,” said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the GOP’s No. 3 leader. “It’s going to be hard to defend.”

Still, it was difficult to find a single Democratic supporter on Monday, even among the most moderate members. That suggests the minority party is comfortable with the politics of blocking the Zika bill, particularly since the White House is threatening a veto, anyway. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said he is “skeptical” of the funding apparatus and Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, who also runs the Democrats’ campaign arm, said he probably could not support the legislation.

“I don’t know why anyone would vote for it,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said in a brief interview. “Look at what they gave us. How about the Confederate flag thing? Is that about the clincher.”

The failed vote will have special political and practical resonance in Florida, the presidential battleground state and site of a competitive Senate race this fall, as well as home to hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans. As Puerto Ricans have fled the island for the sunnier economic outlook in Florida, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) went so far as to join Democrats pushing for $1.9 billion requested by Obama to fight the disease.

He’ll vote for the compromise Tuesday — but did not hide his irritation with the impasse.

“I wanted it to happen two months ago. I’m not pleased,” he said.

Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.

