MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine say more federal resources are needed to combat the spread of the Zika virus in South Florida.
They’re holding a news conference Monday at a popular Miami Beach cafe in an effort to urge Congress to return from its summer break to deal with the virus outbreak.
President Barack Obama requested $1.9 billion in emergency funds in February to develop a vaccine and control the mosquitoes that carry the virus.
But lawmakers left Washington in mid-July for a seven-week recess without approving any of the money.
Mosquito-borne Zika cases have been found in two neighborhoods of Miami-Dade County.
They’re the first areas on the U.S. mainland where health officials determined mosquitoes were transmitting Zika.
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