New York Times: Stealing From Ebola to Fight Zika
Editorial Board

“Nobody should be surprised when the present House of Representatives, dominated by penurious reactionaries, produces a stingy response to a danger that calls for compassionate largess. … The salient feature is that in providing money to fight one health menace, it steals from other funds meant to fight an even more dangerous threat — the Ebola virus. … [T]he House insisted that [the approved $622 million] be offset by cuts to other programs, including those aimed at Ebola. That makes no sense. It would shortchange critical efforts to strengthen public health systems in Africa in order to prevent a resurgence of Ebola … and other diseases. The money in the House bill would be available only until the end of September … Cutting off funds that early would … severely hamper the effort to create a Zika vaccine … The House seems incapable of seeing that Zika is a real threat, not a device to satisfy its anti-regulatory zeal” (5/19).