Everything is better when the government just stands aside, right? Republicans are providing their latest example of this truism by blowing every possible chance to do anything about the Zika virus. Instead they are gifting every county, city, town, and individual with the joy that comes with responsibility.
Cases of the mosquito-transmitted disease have now been detected in 45 states and all three U.S. territories — and the threat is only growing. On Tuesday, the first Zika-infected woman in the mainland U.S. gave birth to a baby with microcephaly, the fetal brain deformity linked to Zika.
But federal lawmakers may be too late to make a substantial impact to stem the spread of the virus. Although health experts have been raising the alarm for months, Congress recently broke for vacation without passing a comprehensive funding bill to help states prepare for the epidemic.
Mosquitos and viruses may be partying now, but that's only because they don't realize the Randian force generated by leaving every person in the country exposed to a godawful disease.
Just outside the walls of the Capitol rests one of the hundreds of communities waiting for federal aid. Washington D.C. is a humid haven for millions of mosquitoes during its coming summer months. In lieu of congressional support, D.C. health officials have taken the battle into their own hands, working in part with the CDC to create a “Comprehensive Zika Action Plan.”
Without funding, support, or a national plan, each community has to devise its own response—and its own dollars—to stem the spread of the virus. It's a race against time as temperatures warm and the species of mosquitos known to carry the virus spread. But every pregnant woman in America will surely want to thank Republicans for giving them this opportunity for personal growth.