Poised to skip town with no action on Zika virus

Maybe you've used some of these excuses, though likely not about Zika: "No need for this smelly bug spray" or "I lived here for years and never got chikungunya, why would I get Zika?" or even, "It's not like I'm planning to have a baby any time soon."

Zika is usually a mild virus, and people rarely die from it. For pregnant women, though, it's more serious, as Zika can cause microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects.

On Wednesday, the Senate did act on one crisis, giving preliminary approval to a plan to save debt-stricken Puerto Rico from defaulting this week on a $2 billion debt payment, with final passage expected Thursday.

However, following the terror massacre inside an Orlando, Fla., nightclub, the Senate was unable to strike a compromise on dueling gun control measures, sparking additional finger-pointing and outcry from Americans about an ineffectual Congress.

On the Zika issue, Obama requested $1.9 billion back in February. But the Republicans controlling Congress instead forced the administration to redirect more than $500 million in unspent Ebola-fighting funds to combat Zika.

The failed House-Senate measure matched the $1.1 billion proposal passed last month by the Senate except for the added provisions and the attachment of companion spending cuts to defray its cost.

Democrats particularly opposed a provision that restricts the use of $95 million worth of federal grants to provide services such as birth control to women in Puerto Rico threatened by the virus. Democrats charged that the restrictions were targeted at clinic on the island run by Planned Parenthood, a group loathed by many anti-abortion Republicans. 

In addition to the limits on Planned Parenthood, the bill would temporarily lift Clean Water Act permitting requirements on pesticide spraying for municipalities and other large-scale users.