"What we now know is that there appears to be some significant risk for pregnant women and women who are thinking about having a baby," Obama said in an interview aired Monday on "CBS This Morning."
The White House said that as spring and summer approach, the U.S. must prepare to quickly address local transmission with the continental U.S. Obama added, however, that "there shouldn`t be a panic on this."
Two health care experts will answer reporters` questions Monday at the regular White House press briefing: Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The administration`s request to Congress is separate from the budget for the next fiscal year that Obama will submit to Congress on Tuesday. The administration seeks the Zika money much more quickly than the regular budget process would allow.
On Tuesday, administration officials are slated to brief Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-Ky.) and other congressional leaders on the administration`s Zika prevention and response plan, McConnell`s office said. The lawmakers also expect to hear more about the new funding request and the administration`s other spending priorities "given limited federal resources," according to a statement from McConnell spokesman Don Stewart.
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