Gov. Scott Seeking Federal Action On Zika Virus
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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) -- Gov. Rick Scott will travel to Washington next week to ask federal officials to quickly come to agreement on a plan to deal with the spread of the Zika virus.
Scott issued a statement Wednesday saying the mosquito-borne virus, which emerged last year in South America, should be treated like a "hurricane" as new cases are diagnosed in Florida and other areas.
"Florida has now had more than 100 documented cases of the Zika virus," Scott said. "We are now headed into summer, when heat and rainfall cause our mosquito population to grow. Simultaneously, the Olympic games in Brazil will heavily increase travel to a country where the Zika virus is spreading rapidly."
The Obama administration has sought to spend $1.9 billion on combating Zika, but the request has been tied up in Congress. U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., issued a statement Monday supporting the request, which put him at odds with some GOP leaders.
"There's a reason why the public has lost confidence in Washington --- and this is the latest example," Buchanan said. "Instead of working together to protect Americans, Washington has descended into another partisan fight, with both parties blaming each other for inaction on a growing and deadly health threat."
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., also gave a floor speech last week calling for action to deal with the spread of the virus.
Scott's statement said he plans to travel to Washington on May 11 and May 12.
(The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.)
