When Republicans left town this summer, they abandoned a billion-dollar Zika rescue package that had become mired in partisan infighting. But now some rank-and-file Florida Republicans — who represent scared constituents clamoring for Washington to do something — are pressuring their leaders to get a deal done, no matter what it takes.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen asked Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to convene an emergency session of Congress to pass a Zika bill immediately. Rep. Carlos Curbelo is worrying that Congress’ lack of action could cripple him in an already tough reelection battle. And a number of Florida Republicans, including Rep. Dennis Ross, want their party to fully fund President Barack Obama's larger $1.9 billion Zika request.


Since Congress split town in mid-July, the mosquito-borne virus situation has worsened: The first locally transmitted cases in Florida appeared at the end of July, with infections there now totaling more than 400 cases (though most were transmitted by people who had traveled abroad). On Thursday, Florida newspapers reported that parts of Miami Beach had been infected. And on Aug. 12, the White House declared a public health emergency in Puerto Rico, projecting that 25 percent of residents will likely contract Zika this year — all just a few miles from Florida’s sandy coasts.

“I don’t care how it gets passed, it just needs to get passed,” Curbelo said in a phone interview Wednesday. “There is so much anger and frustration in our country, because most Americans feel they cannot count on the government to do very simple things. … Congress has to show competence — and funding a response to a serious public health threat seems to me a very simple stand for ‘competence.'"

The speaker’s office has tried to redirect the blame, pointing a finger at Senate Democrats who blocked a House-passed $1.1 billion rescue package because they said it wasn’t enough money and included partisan riders.

Indeed, many Florida Republicans echo their frustration.

But with fears rising that their state is headed for a public health disaster, some Florida Republicans say blaming others is not helping them now. And the lack of a long-term plan is bound to hurt them on the campaign trail — if it hasn’t already.

Curbelo, who represents the southernmost tip of Florida, which is also the most vulnerable to a Zika outbreak, told House leadership earlier this year that its initial response to the crisis, about a third of the amount of the White House request, was “inadequate and irresponsible,” he said.

Since Curbelo’s been home for recess, he’s received calls from obstetricians saying their offices are overflowing with concerned pregnant women. The freshman lawmaker also personally knows at least two expecting mothers who picked up and left their homes in Florida’s mosquito-friendly climate because they’re scared for their unborn.

“Is there anything worse than exposing your unborn baby to some sort of brain defect?” he asked, referring to microcephaly, the Zika-related severe birth defect that leads to underdeveloped brains. “This is scary stuff. So for us, this is very real. And maybe people up north don’t feel this sense of urgency.”

When the White House asked for $1.9 billion to combat the virus, House Republicans noted that the administration had leftover Ebola funds and urged it to start with that unused pot of cash. The chamber also passed a $622 million package of additional funds — legislation Democrats and several Florida Republicans called "inadequate” to protect the nation.

Senate Republicans had offered a higher amount: $1.1 billion through the following fiscal year. And while the House agreed to that sum, Senate Democrats blocked the agreement because they felt it still wasn’t enough. They also lambasted provisions tucked into the bill to defund parts of Obamacare and its failure to provide funding for family planning (Zika can be transmitted sexually, so Democrats have argued clinics like Planned Parenthood should get some money, too).

So lawmakers left for recess pointing fingers at each other. In a statement, Ryan’s spokeswoman AshLee Strong again blamed Democrats for filibustering “this lifesaving bill.”

“We hope they’ve heard from their constituents over the recess and are ready to drop their irresponsible hold on the House-passed package to fight Zika,” she said.

But in Florida, the new front line of Zika, it’s not that simple. House Republicans are finding that just blaming Democrats isn’t working, and they’re getting heat for Congress' lack of a long-term plan.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen asked Speaker Paul Ryan to convene an emergency session of Congress to address Zika. | Getty

“The GOP are taking the majority of the blame,” said one senior staffer to a Florida Republican who asked for anonymity to speak frankly. “Constituents don't understand it was Democrats who blocked it, and worse, they think the House went home for summer ‘vacation’ rather than find some room for compromise. We are screwed.”

Democrats, meanwhile, are trying to twist the knife.

“Florida is ground zero for Zika in the U.S., and it's time for Marco Rubio, Rick Scott and congressional Republicans to quit playing politics and protect our state,” Rep. Gwen Graham said on a Thursday phone call with reporters. The Panhandle Democrat took a whack at her fellow Floridians in Congress for good measure: “It's time for Florida Republicans to focus on the real issues hurting Floridians.”

Local newspapers are echoing that narrative. The Tampa Bay Times editorial board blasted the House for adding the Obamacare riders to the latest funding bill, “turning what should have been a no-brainer vote into a partisan hot potato.”

“The bill died, and Congress went on vacation for weeks,” it read.

Florida Republicans’ Democratic challengers are starting to pick up on the issue, trying to tie their incumbents to the Hill stalemate.

“Where were you 6 months ago?” Ros-Lehtinen’s long-shot opponent Scott Fuhrman tweeted at her on Aug. 5. “Why did u wait until the virus was being transmitted locally to act?”

Fuhrman also went up with ads blaming Ros-Lehtinen for the continued problem. And Curbelo, whose reelection is expected to be one of the most contentious this fall, is getting grilled by two Democrats currently squaring off in their own primary to challenge him for the seat.

At least one Republican recently privately complained to leadership that the delegations’ House races were doomed to become about the virus if something wasn’t passed soon.

To be fair, the White House still has millions of reallocated fiscal 2016 dollars at its fingertips being spent right now. It's a question of what happens after Sept. 30, when the funding runs out, or if the situation were to worsen such that more money is needed immediately.

Several Florida Republicans have urged their leadership to pass Obama’s initial $1.9 billion request to fund research and search for a vaccine. Ros-Lehtinen, who represents the Miami area, took that a step further on Aug. 5, asking Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to haul lawmakers back to Washington to pass it now — lining up with many Democrats and the Hillary Clinton campaign who have likewise called for Congress to return.

“I have been demanding an effective response from our federal government for months to ensure that we contain and eliminate this public health crisis," Ros-Lehtinen wrote. "Yet, the most critical role for Congress to play in the federal government’s response — appropriating an adequate and reliable stream of funding to support impacted states and local communities — has been caught up in protracted political battles. My home state of Florida, and the residents of South Florida, in particular, can no longer afford to wait on behalf of political posturing by either party.”

Not all Florida Republicans are looking to their own leadership for action. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a loyal senior House appropriator, used the entirety of a phone interview Thursday to blast Democrats, and Democrats only, as the irresponsible ones.

"There’s a real health crisis, and you have the House on two separate occasions passing a funding bill … and the Senate Democrats refusing to allow a vote, which is frankly border-line criminally negligent,” he said. "It’s insane. It’s grossly irresponsible."

House and Senate leadership could revisit the issue this September, with some suggesting a Zika package be attached to a must-pass spending bill C.R. But it’s still unclear how or even whether they can resolve the impasse with Democrats.

In the meantime, Florida Republicans are doing what they can to show they're hearing constituents' concerns. Rep. John Mica, who represents the area north of Orlando, has a timeline of all his actions to address Zika posted on his website. He proudly points out that he was on the issue as early as Feb. 24, when he chaired a Zika hearing. And on Aug. 12, he hosted a roundtable with regional leaders from six counties and state and federal officials to discuss coordinating the fight against the virus.

Mica, who doesn’t think Congress needs to reconvene to act right now and is much more comfortable with the House's lower, $1.1 billion funding plan, says the administration is to blame, too. Florida Republicans found out in late July that only 20 percent of about $589 million already moved from the Ebola account to fight Zika had been spent, he said. And of that, only a very small portion had been allotted to Florida, the state most at risk.

“We lit a fire and said they need to get the money out,” he said, noting that Republicans and Democrats asked the administration to distribute more money more quickly.

Mica has assured constituents that Congress will pass more funding when it returns, though it is unclear exactly what he's basing those assurances on.

“I just want it done as soon as they get back," he said. “Just get it done.”

Jennifer Haberkorn contributed to this report.