WASHINGTON — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) introduced legislation in February to swiftly provide federal funding to combat the emerging infectious disease threat of the Zika virus. His bill, a companion to one introduced in the House of Representatives, would have provided the flexibility to use existing, unused funds that had been set aside for combating the largely controlled Ebola outbreak of 2014. 

The Obama adminstration announced on Wednesday that they would adopt the course of action called for in the bill, using funding from the Ebola outbreak to address Zika.

Johnson said this about the announcement:

“I support the administration’s goal to address the pressing threat of the Zika virus by broadening the uses permitted for unspent funds reserved for an outbreak that has generally been contained in the United States. Preventing pandemics is crucial to protecting the security of America, the mission of my committee and something we can all agree on.”

The text of Johnson’s bill, S.2518, can be found here.