Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Tuesday urged Congress to cut short its summer recess, return to the Capitol and pass emergency funding to combat the Zika virus.

Clinton spoke at Borinquen Medical Center, a health clinic near an area in Miami where Zika-carrying mosquitoes are circulating. As she was touring the clinic, Florida health officials reported four new cases of Zika that had been transmitted through mosquitoes in the area, bringing the state's total to 21.

Clinton used the opportunity to tout a broader message about the importance of health clinics and consistent public health measures. The U.S., she said, should have the "premier public health standard in the world."

Lawmakers left Washington for their summer recess in mid-July without passing funding to combat Zika. Democrats opposed a $1.1 billion spending bill because it included language that restricted funds from going to Planned Parenthood, among other measures. President Barack Obama originally had requested $1.9 billion in emergency funding.

Officials have said the funding is urgently needed to continue vaccine development and to abate mosquitoes. Until last month, most cases occurred among people who were bitten by infected mosquitoes when they traveled to Latin America and the Caribbean. Some also contracted the virus through sex.

Clinton's remarks came soon after officials said they suspected mosquitoes in Palm Beach County are also carrying Zika and the same day Texas health officials announced that a baby born with Zika-related birth defects had died. The virus has been linked to the birth defect microcephaly, which causes abnormally small heads and severe brain damage in infants born to women who were infected during pregnancy.

Because the effects of Zika are most severe among pregnant women and their fetuses, the spread of the virus has reinvigorated debates about contraception and abortion. Microcephaly often isn't detected until later in a pregnancy.

Clinton, a proponent of abortion rights, said in an interview on Quora that access to contraception was one way to fight the effects of Zika.

Obama and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., have called for Congress to act, and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell sent a letter to legislators last week saying the $374 million to fight the virus domestically was running out.

The Democrats' vice presidential nominee, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, has said he would return to Washington to vote on a Zika funding bill.

Clinton, in her latest remarks, accused the staff of her opponent, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, of believing that Zika was not a significant issue.

Trump has said it is up to Florida Gov. Rick Scott to ask for help, praising his efforts at keeping the virus "under control."

In a statement released Tuesday, Scott called Zika a "national issue."