Congress Recesses Without Funding Zika Effort

Congress is about to leave for a seven-week vacation without giving the Obama administration any of the $1.9 billion it's seeking to battle the Zika virus, and a Senate effort to revive the nuts-and-bolts process of passing agency budgets was dealt a significant setback at the hands of Democrats.

 

Meanwhile, House Republicans passed a $32 billion spending bill for the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency as lawmakers exit Washington for a seven-week recess, though the move would do little to advance GOP leaders' hopes of fixing the Capitol's shattered budget process.

 

The House measure, laced with a wish-list of GOP provisions to roll back Obama administration clean air and water regulations, faces a White House veto threat — as does a $1.1 billion GOP-drafted Zika measure that's been grounded by abortion politics and other problems.