Senate, House Pass Spending Bills to Tackle Zika

The U.S. Senate and House passed spending bills to fight the Zika virus within 24 hours of each other. The distinct measures both include HHS funding for vaccines, therapies and diagnostic tests.

The Senate — which passed its $1.1 billion package last week as an amendment to a transportation appropriations bill — voted 68-30 to provide $150 million for an HHS emergency fund to spur the development of Zika countermeasures.

A $622 million measure passed the House 241-184 last week that would allocate $103 million for the development of preventative measures. The money would come from $352 million in funds left over from the 2014 campaign to eradicate Ebola, with a further $270 million coming from unused administrative funding in HHS.