Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R.) responded Wednesday to reporting by the Washington Free Beacon on millions of dollars spent on frivolous government studies that could have gone to addressing the Zika virus, saying the feds have not been a "good partner" in the effort.
Free Beacon reporter Elizabeth Harrington wrote about nearly $50 million spent by the National Institutes of Health on such things as exercise programs for refugees, studies of obesity with lesbians, a weight-loss program for truck drivers, and how babies think about food.
Fox host Abby Huntsman asked Scott to comment on that kind of waste when those funds could be used to address Zika, which has now affected more than 20 people in his state.
"I’m very disappointed in the federal government," Scott said. "They have not been a partner. We have a less than one square mile radius where we believe there’s likely transfers. We have reduced that area as of last Friday ... But the federal government has not been a partner."
Scott said he had allocated more than $26 million in state resources to address the ongoing crisis. The Department of Health and Human Services has warned Congress that its own resources to address Zika will be exhausted by September.
Harrington appeared on Fox News on Tuesday to discuss her reporting, saying that this money should go to more worthy causes like fighting Zika.
Florida lawmakers have expressed outrage at legislators for not passing Zika funding. President Obama’s proposed $1.9 billion package and Republicans’ $1.1 billion budget to tackle the virus both failed to pass.