[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 66 (Thursday, April 28, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H2074]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VOTE FOR EMERGENCY FUNDING TO FIGHT ZIKA VIRUS
(Mr. RUIZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute.)
Mr. RUIZ. Mr. Speaker, the Zika virus results in devastating human
illness, like small, deformed brains in infants and paralyzing
neurodegenerative diseases. It has already infected over 900 people in
the United States and its territories, and it is just a matter of time
before it will rapidly spread in the United States.
Mr. Speaker, Congress needs to do its job and protect the health
security of the American people and vote for emergency funding to fight
Zika now before we adjourn and before it is too late. Listen to the
scientists, to the public experts, and to the CDC. All of them are
echoing the same warning. Funding is imperative to prevent the spread
of Zika, and it is our responsibility, our moral obligation, as Members
of Congress, to protect the public against this potential crisis.
What are we waiting for? The House should not adjourn until we have
passed H.R. 5044, the emergency supplemental on the Zika virus.
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