Senate Blocks CR That Includes Zika, Opioid Funding; Friday Deadline Looms

The Senate failed Tuesday (Sept. 27) to advance a temporary government spending bill introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that would fund Zika vaccine development and mosquito control, as well as provide resources for the opioid bill signed into law earlier this year. Senate Democrats objected to the spending measure because it did not include funding for the water crisis in Flint, MI and had what Democrats called “poison pill riders.” The top Democratic appropriator took to the...