LegiStorm

Summary:

The second session of the 114th Congress has considered whether and how to provide funds to control the spread of the Zika virus throughout the Americas. Zika infection, which is primarily spread by Aedes mosquitoes and sexual contact, has been linked to birth defects and other health concerns. Local transmission of the virus has occurred in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Florida. On February 22, 2016, the Obama Administration requested more than $1.89 billion in supplemental funding for the Zika response, all of which it asked to be designated as an emergency requirement, which would effectively exempt the funds from discretionary spending limits. The request included $1.509 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), $335 million for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and $41 million for the Department of State. The request sought authority to transfer the requested funds to other federal agencies to allow greater flexibility as circumstances change. It also sought to provide HHS, the Department of State, and USAID with authority for direct hiring and personal services contracting, not limited to positions related to Zika response efforts. On April 6, 2016, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Secretary of HHS announced that they had identified $589 million—$510 million of it from “existing Ebola resources” within HHS and Department of State/USAID—that could be redirected and spent on immediate efforts to control the spread of Zika in the Americas. On April 8, 2016, the Administration notified Congress of the transfer of $295 million (included in the $510 million) from FY2015 unobligated USAID Ebola Economic Support Funds (ESF) to be used for Zika response efforts and other purposes. Of that amount, USAID would provide $158 million to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—$78 million for Zika response and $80 million for Ebola response. The remaining $137 million would fund various USAID Zika response activities. In May, both the House and the Senate passed supplemental appropriations measures for Zika response. On May 18, the House passed a stand-alone bill (H.R. 5243) to provide $622.1 million, which would be available until September 30, 2016. It did not designate these funds as an emergency requirement, but instead rescinded an equal amount of budget authority. On May 19, as the Senate was considering a bill to provide regular FY2017 appropriations for Military Construction-Veterans Affairs and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development, it amended that bill so that it also would provide $1.1 billion for Zika response, to be available, depending on the account, either until September 30, 2017, or until expended (S.Amdt. 3900 to H.R. 2577). The Senate bill did not contain any rescissions and instead designated the Zika-related appropriations as emergency requirements. A conference agreement to provide $1.1 billion in Zika response funding (H.Rept. 114-640, to accompany H.R. 2577) was filed on June 22 and agreed to by the House on June 23. Amounts to HHS and Department of State/USAID were generally similar to those in the Senate proposal. However, other aspects of the agreement generated some controversy. These included a provision associated with health care funding that would be provided through the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), and a provision that would rescind a total of $750 million, most of it from unspent funds provided by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA, P.L. 111-148, as amended) intended to establish health exchanges in the territories. The Senate voted three times (in June, July, and September) not to invoke cloture on the measure. On August 11, 2016, the Administration reprogrammed $81 million within HHS to continue funding for Zika vaccine research efforts. On September 28, 2016, the Senate and House passed H.R. 5325, a legislative vehicle that incorporated appropriations for Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (Division A); $1.1 billion in FY2016 Zika supplemental funding (Division B); a short-term continuing resolution (CR) for FY2017 that would fund remaining government operations through December 9, 2016 (Division C); and a number of rescissions (Division D). The President signed the legislation on September 29, 2016. This report tracks administrative and congressional action on FY2016 supplemental funding to address the Zika virus. This report incorporates all information from CRS Report R44549, Supplemental Appropriations for Zika Response: The FY2016 Conference Agreement in Brief, with no substantive changes. That CRS report is no longer available.