Tricky talks ahead on measures to battle Zika

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans controlling both the House and the Senate are facing tricky negotiations with each other and the White House over how to handle the public health threat posed by the Zika virus.

In the House, a partisan 241-184 vote Wednesday night to pass a $622 million bill to battle the Zika virus puts conservative-dominated House members at odds with senators who have embraced a bipartisan compromise that President Barack Obama can live with.

House Democrats lined up in opposition, heeding a White House veto threat and warnings from top government health officials that the bill wouldn't do enough to respond to the growing threat from Zika.

Frieden said in an interview with The Associated Press that the House measure would hamper the CDC's ability to monitor women and babies with the virus over coming years, fight the mosquitoes that spread it, and develop better diagnostic tests.

[...] the Senate measure and the Obama request are fairly similar when it comes to how much money to spend on Zika; the main difference is that the president wants back the almost $600 million he diverted last month from the Ebola battle and other accounts.