The White House will use $510 million that was originally dedicated to battling last year's Ebola virus crisis for efforts focused on fighting the emerging Zika virus threat in the U.S., according to a report from USA Today.
The money will be added to an existing federal fund to combat Zika, worth $79 million, bringing the total to roughly $589 million. Although the additional funds may help, White House officials also made clear their expectations regarding Congressional action on President Obama's emergency funding request.
"I want to be very clear that our $1.9 billion request remains our $1.9 billion request," Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan told USA Today. Officials also noted that the borrowed Ebola funds will need to be replenished.
"These efforts need to continue, and they can't be stopped or short-changed," said HHS Director Sylvia Burwell, according to the report. "We have two global public health crises, Ebola and Zika, and we can't set one aside to deal with the other."
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