Congress approves Zika funding

According to the National Pest Management Association’s (NPMA’s) Sept. 30 policy e-newsletter, the U.S. Congress avoided a government shut-down and passed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through Dec. 9, 2016. The CR includes $1.1 billion in funding to aid in combatting the Zika Virus.

“The Zika funding language is almost identical to the legislation that stalled in the Senate this summer, but without certain riders that were labeled ‘poison pills,’” says the NPMA Policy Team. “The funding will be allocated by the Department of Health and Human Services and will go toward vaccine research, healthcare needs and mosquito control efforts. The funding will be made available to states in need of additional resources, and this appropriation allows both federal and state governments to enter into public/private contracts with these funds, which is favorable language for the pest management industry. NPMA has been advocating for additional resources to combat the Zika virus with a focus on mosquito control for several months, and this is a victory for the pest management industry.

“After passing the continuing resolution, both chambers recessed until after the November elections. Earlier in the week, new overtime legislation that would delay implementation of the rule for six months was introduced and debated, but the White House quickly signaled they would veto any measure. Congress will return in November needing to pass a funding measure to avoid a shutdown on Dec. 9, 2016. The funding measure will likely be an omnibus that will fund the government through Sept. 30, 2017. Traditionally, an omnibus is an opportunity to add legislation that had not previously passed earlier in the year but has strong support. The outcome of the elections could have a significant impact on legislation included in the omnibus during a ‘lame duck’ Congressional session. NPMA will continue to press issues like Overtime, NPDES permits and burdensome PAC prior approval requirements and will work with Congressional offices and allied industry groups to include fixes to these issue in the omnibus.”