ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — President Obama's spokesman says Florida needs more federal money to limit the spread of the Zika virus.
White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz said Friday's announcement that South Florida has four mosquito-transmitted cases should be a wake-up call for Congress "to get back to work."
Congress left on a seven-week vacation without giving the Obama administration any of the $1.9 billion it sought for mosquito control, vaccine development and other steps to battle Zika.
Schultz called that "regrettable."
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it has provided Florida $8 million in Zika-specific funding, and the White House has said the state can anticipate receiving another $5.6 million in Zika funding through a grant.