Congress leaves Washington, its dysfunction on display

WASHINGTON -- Congress exited a sweltering Washington on Thursday, its dysfunction on full display as it left behind must-do legislation to combat the mosquito-borne Zika virus and a stalemate over lawmakers' basic job of fulfilling agency budgets.

The twin failures highlighted the one step forward, two steps back nature of the bitterly-divided Congress, even as Senate Majority Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan trumpeted victories on drug-abuse legislation and other, more modest bills. But a continuing impasse over the Pentagon budget sent McConnell's effort to revive the process for advancing annual spending bills off the rails.

When lawmakers return from their vacation after Labor Day, a stopgap funding bill that's needed to prevent a government shutdown will be the main order of business before Congress recesses again for the fall campaign.

Calls by Democrats for modest curbs on guns sales went unheeded as lawmakers embarked on a seven-week vacation extended by the national political conventions this month.

Democratic nominee-to-be Hillary Clinton paid a visit to Senate Democrats amid new polls showing a tightening race against Donald Trump.

As the last act before lawmakers sped away from the Capitol, Senate Democrats again blocked a $1.1 billion take-it-or-leave-it Zika measure drafted by Republicans controlling Congress, protesting a provision that would block Planned Parenthood clinics in Puerto Rico from receiving money to fight the virus, which can cause severe birth defects and can be transmitted by mosquitoes native to much of the country.

"Republicans chose to put their ideological battle against Planned Parenthood ahead of their responsibilities as legislators to help fight Zika," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

The administration still has considerable Zika funding at its disposal, but inaction on the Zika issue this summer may lead to delays in developing a vaccine and advanced mosquito-fighting techniques.

Earlier, McConnell, R-Ky., again tried to call up a $575 billion Pentagon funding bill but was blocked by Democrats who fear Republicans will use the measure to boost the defense budget while keeping domestic programs frozen -- and in the process unravel last year's hard-fought budget deal, which reversed curbs on both Pentagon and domestic accounts.

Republicans howled in outrage at the twin Democratic filibusters.

"Our service members are at war. They are in combat. And their combat boots are on the ground," said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. "I think our colleagues across the aisle have forgotten that."

Democrats fired back at a news conference in which they blasted Republicans for failures on gun-safety legislation, Zika, reform of the justice system and emergency funding to confront the nation's opioid epidemic.

"This is going to be a long, hot summer for people who aren't going to be able to take nice, long vacations, people who are in our streets fearing for our children, people wondering why Congress has failed," said Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.

Democrats were particularly upset over guns in the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando, recent deaths of African-Americans at the hands of police and the killing of five officers in Dallas last week. Senate Republicans last month blocked an attempt by Democrats to block people on a government list of terrorist suspects from buying guns.