Rubio: $1.9 billion to combat Zika virus must not be wasted

MIAMI (AP) – Sen. Marco Rubio says he will be closely monitoring the proposed $1.9 billion in federal money earmarked to combat the Zika virus to make sure it’s not wasted and goes to communities where it’s needed.

Speaking Friday at a news conference in Miami, Rubio says he supports President Barack Obama’s plan to provide emergency funding for the virus but says the money must be “spent the right way on the right things and in the right places.”

Zika is rapidly spreading through Latin America. A total of 84 cases have now been reported in Florida. Miami-Dade County leads the state with 33 reported cases. All the cases so far have been travel-related, but the virus can be spread by bites from mosquitoes that are common in Florida.