[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 67 (Friday, April 29, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H2136-H2142]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IMPORTANT ISSUES IN THE NEWS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as I listened to my good friend--and I 
think it is important that we note that our colleagues are good friends 
and Americans who care. That is why I have come to the floor to 
challenge the hearts and minds of my colleagues, for my discussion 
today, as the gentleman that preceded me, will be in the Congressional 
Record for my colleagues to peruse and for the American people to 
peruse.
  I do take note of the fact, as the gentleman recounted the history of 
budgets--and I might say that I, too, spent time working on the 1997 
budget. I have been privileged to serve from that time when a 
bipartisan effort--with everyone, in essence, putting down their 
obstructionist perspectives--generated one of the best health insurance 
programs for our children, called CHIP, that the Nation has seen, that 
millions of American children are now insured.
  But it is important to note that the present Republican majority 
failed to put a budget on the floor for us to vote up or down, 
primarily because there were Members in their own conference that would 
not vote because the cuts were not sufficient, even though trillions of 
dollars were cut from education and many other services that the 
American people need.
  Now, I know that the American people are very independent. There are 
States that have worked very hard to ensure that their particular 
citizens in their State are well taken care of, but the one thing I 
know about the Federal Government, it is the umbrella on a rainy day.
  I will go home to my district, having suffered the terrible impact of 
major flooding, 20 inches of rain devastating young families, 
devastating people who flooded just less than a year ago in May of 
2015. Oh, we pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps, tore out carpet, 
threw out all of our personal possessions, but we needed the umbrella, 
FEMA, that is en route to my district now to help those who cannot help 
themselves or those who had never flooded in 50 years. So we cannot 
discount the role of the Federal Government.
  The United States military is the finest in the world. The Affordable 
Care Act, yes, needs to be fixed in certain areas, but 20 million 
Americans have gotten insurance, and more Americans have private 
insurance because they said, you know what, it is the right thing to 
do.

[[Page H2137]]

  So it troubles me when we talk about a budget that should have been 
put on the floor that was a combination of the efforts of Democrats and 
Republicans, and when we listen to the President and work together, but 
no budget has come because they realize the draconian budget that is 
slashing government, throwing people out in the streets is not a budget 
that America can even tolerate. They could not overcome those that 
didn't even want that budget. They wanted to cut and slice education, 
resources to our military, health care, and the environment even more.
  So I stand in the backdrop of that challenge to challenge this 
Congress again. I was one of the first Members of Congress to deal with 
raising the need for serious attention to the Ebola virus as it hit 
Texas in Dallas. The first American to be diagnosed was in our State of 
Texas.
  I began as a member of the Committee on Homeland Security to ask what 
our airports were doing, how are we assessing those who are traveling 
into our country, and making sure that the Centers for Disease Control 
were at my airports, both in Dallas and in Houston, Texas.
  Now 1 year later or a couple of years later, we are now facing this 
issue called the Zika virus. I want to be very clear, we are not paying 
the attention to this that we should.
  A headline reads: ``Scarier Than We Initially Thought.'' The CDC, the 
Centers for Disease Control, sounds a major alarm, a warning regarding 
the Zika virus. ``Public health officials used their strongest language 
to date in warning about a Zika outbreak in the United States, as the 
Obama administration lobbied Congress for $1.9 billion to combat the 
mosquito-borne virus.''
  What did I start out by saying?
  The Federal Government should not run our lives, but it is the 
umbrella on a rainy day. It is the only entity that can muster the 
stakes and resources to deal with what the CDC has said is a far more 
serious issue.
  If we look at Puerto Rico, they are the eye of the storm. Texas, the 
eye of the storm. Florida, the eye of the storm. It is important to 
note that we have not done what we should be doing.
  As a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, which 
has a core mission of emergency preparedness of State and local 
governments to be equipped to react to emergencies, I am acutely aware 
of the potential for the Zika virus to be a real challenge for State 
and local governments in the coming months. You need our help.
  This House has done nothing to respond to the President's request for 
$1.9 billion in emergency funds. My friends, this is not a frivolous 
request.
  What do emergency funds mean?
  Someone said, just go write a check out of the operating budget of 
the United States. You want us to be more fiscally responsible than 
that. We have a budget. We have funding that we have to obligate to the 
other needs of this Nation. The reason why the President rose to the 
level of the emergency funding, because emergency funding can come 
immediately outside of the budgeting process and begin to get these 
dollars to community health entities in our States and the Centers for 
Disease Control, who will have to be dispatched to our States to help 
if the epidemic becomes uncontrollable. No action.
  One leader in this House said they are doing absolutely nothing in 
response to the President's request. They don't want to give him the 
money. Thank goodness the Senate has just passed a compromise, the 
other body, $1.9 billion in emergency funding for this important effort 
that we must have.
  I come from Houston that has a tropical climate, with many climatic 
similarities with other States along the Gulf Coast, parts of Central 
and South America, as well as the Caribbean. Tropical climates are 
hospitable to mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus. In addition, 
Houston has a large and very diverse population that travels to many 
parts of the Zika virus-impacted zones located throughout Central and 
South America and the Caribbean where mosquito transmission of the Zika 
virus is a primary means of exposure to the illness.
  People coming back and forth into the United States, citizens, those 
who have legal documents will travel across this Nation. There is no 
reason to point to these individuals and make them scapegoats. We 
should be prepared.
  What about vacationers?
  No matter how much you have spoken about the Zika virus, there will 
be vacationers who will still be going to places because they planned 
their vacation. They are going right into the heart of the storm.
  As we well know, those women who will become pregnant will be the 
prime target for a devastating impact on their embryo, their baby that 
may be born with severe brain damage, lifelong brain damage.
  We held a hearing early in March because I knew that I could not wait 
to educate my community. I called the Zika virus planning meeting along 
the Gulf Coast that would include doctors, agency officials, community 
service and faith-based organizations to start to build the bridges 
between those communities to defeat Zika.
  As you well know, the summer Olympics will be held this year, and all 
of our American athletes will be going to Brazil. Brazil is also one of 
the serious sites of the Zika-carrying mosquito. It is a very serious 
and important effort.
  Communities across America should not be panicking, but they should 
be preparing their community health centers, their public health system 
to confront the Zika virus if it comes to their community either by way 
of an individual who needs treatment or by chance of this mosquito.

                              {time}  1215

  So I have called for a national task force on the prevention of Zika 
virus infections in order to target funding for tropical climate areas, 
like Houston, south Texas, Florida, and other places in the southern 
region of the United States that have a tropical population, and to 
focus on the environmental cleanup of city water and trash near 
populated areas.
  Most people are aware of the extreme flooding--20 inches of rain--
that hit my community just 10 to 15 days ago. There were large amounts 
of sitting water and trash in a tropical area, tires. I visited a site 
in my district after the rains that had sitting water. It was just an 
open, welcoming place for the Zika-carrying mosquito.
  I have also asked for public education campaigns targeting all public 
and private pediatric clinics and OB/GYN services for pregnant women. I 
need them to be educated that any mosquito repellant that does not have 
the DEET name on it is not sufficient.
  If you are traveling overseas, your mosquito repellant must say the 
word ``DEET,'' which was work that I did in the United States Congress 
a few years ago when mosquito repellants did not have that word on 
them. We worked legislatively and with the EPA to ensure that you knew 
if it had that component. And you must be careful in using that as 
well.
  We want to provide DEET repellant free to certain high-risk 
populations, in cooperation with private companies. Demand for DEET 
products will likely increase because the Zika virus is in the news. We 
may run out. So it is important that companies need to be alerted to 
set aside products for tropical areas along the south Texas coast and 
other States along that tropical area going along the Gulf Coast: 
Alabama, as I have said, Florida, Mississippi, and others.
  And keep children's wading pools empty of water, my friends.
  These are goals that should be met. I encourage stakeholders to be 
calm, but to meet with your infectious disease physicians, who are in 
all of your communities, along with your public health leaders, faith 
leaders, and others, to educate about this particular disease.
  It is important that we move on this call by the President. This is 
not frivolous. This is an effort that is as clear as if we had called a 
battalion into operation--the United States military--because we were 
under attack. This is prevention--being prepared for potential 
devastating impact.
  These are not my words. One of the most renowned infectious disease 
doctors that we have the privilege of hosting in Houston at the Baylor 
College of Medicine, Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of 
Tropical Medicine and professor of pediatrics

[[Page H2138]]

and molecular virology and microbiology at the Baylor College of 
Medicine, said the following points:

       Zika virus infections will increase over the next few 
     months. Effects of the infections on pregnant women in the 
     first trimester will be, certainly, dangerous. It will impact 
     on the poor. Leadership to fight the spread of the Zika virus 
     must be local and must start now.

  Dr. Peter Hotez said that this particular mosquito is the greatest 
killer of people in the world. They are also called the yellow fever 
mosquito. Now they are acquiring the Zika virus. Dr. Hotez says we are 
expecting 4 million Zika cases in the next 4 months, and to date, there 
are over a million cases in Brazil.
  Remember, we are traveling back and forth. As all of you know, this 
is a small world. No one is kept from traveling internationally. We 
don't close our borders, in terms of Americans traveling on business or 
other responsibilities that they have.
  Pregnancy, during the first trimester of pregnancy if the mother is 
exposed to the Zika virus, it can invade the central nervous system. 
Let me say this more clearly. In pregnancy, if the mother is infected 
in the first trimester of pregnancy, it can invade the central nervous 
system of the developing baby and inhibit brain development, which can 
result in stillbirths and brain damage. It occurs in 1 of every 10,000 
births. And the rate for Zika virus exposure far exceeds that number.
  Brain damage undermines the development either at birth, or the brain 
fails to develop properly after birth. The child will have difficulty 
in walking, difficulty in hearing, and difficulty with speech. Not all 
developmental consequences are known.
  This is Dr. Hotez:

       Three factors together make Zika virus a threat to poor 
     communities: high concentrations of poverty--sitting trash 
     and tires that may be found in many of our more depressed 
     areas--the presence of the mosquitos; environmental 
     conditions that support mosquito breeding near people; and 
     the lack of resources for people to isolate themselves from 
     mosquitos, such as screens, replants, and air-conditioning.

  Now, we all know that on the continent of Africa they have been able 
to bring down the epidemic of malaria by making sure that charities 
like the United Nations and the Gates Foundation give mosquito nets to 
the people to assist them.
  Well, in the United States, I know a lot of people think everybody 
has air-conditioning and that their doors and windows are closed. That 
is not true. There are people who have no air-conditioning and have 
their windows open or they have screens that have holes in them. It is 
sad to think, but it is true.
  Or they are outdoors. They are walking along places that have this 
kind of circumstance--not because we want it to be that way, but after 
a terrible and devastating storm like we had in Houston, we have mounds 
of trash.
  I want to thank the mayor of the city of Houston and the Harris 
County Judge for working diligently on why I asked for extra money for 
these areas: to clean up these trash areas. Now we have extra trash 
because we had this terrible flood. People are still out of their 
homes, and trash is still piled up in many places.
  We need partnerships critical to defeating the Zika virus-carrying 
mosquitos. Zika virus control requires more than spraying for 
mosquitos. Mosquito and animal control need to use the best methods for 
preventing the spread of the disease.
  We can no longer say that disease is a problem from a foreign 
country, because it will be a problem here. Dr. Umair Shah said the 
important lesson from Ebola and Zika is that there is a strong 
connection between global health and domestic health.
  So, my friends, I am sounding the alarm not for panic, but 
preparation and preparedness, education, outreach, personal precaution, 
and understanding how to move around during this time, to cover up to 
prevent mosquito bites day and night--prevent the bites day and night--
environmental cleanup. If you do not have the spray, use a mosquito net 
that you can purchase.
  It is important to note that the Zika virus is not a local mosquito 
population, but it will travel. Travelers must be educated regarding 
the Zika virus. And if you are wondering about our local atmosphere, 
let me tell you of the latest news.
  Thirteen Zika virus cases are now reported in Virginia. Two new cases 
were reported on Thursday, both of them in the northern region of 
Virginia, according to the Virginia Department of Health. I did not say 
Brazil. I said Virginia. There are now 388 cases nationwide as of 
Thursday. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 33 with the 
virus are pregnant. This is an action that we cannot avoid.

  For anyone that has not seen the Zika virus-carrying mosquito, this 
is a mighty powerful mosquito. And don't in any way have me suggest 
that this is the size of it, but you can see the elements of it; and 
what we are taught is that it is a pretty strong mosquito, not to be 
deterred. We must get prepared.
  So, as we look to the elements of preparedness, let me share some 
other issues that I think need to be addressed. I thought this was so 
important. The national media has helped us try to bring it to people's 
attention. I put an article in Time magazine myself, ``Congress Must 
Act Immediately to Combat Zika Virus.''
  We are serious about this and have to get serious. We cannot have the 
Senate in a compromise of $1.1 billion on the emergency supplemental 
that the President has asked for, yet this House has not done anything.
  We are now going for the district work recess. I will be going home 
to my district to visit those individuals who are underwater, whose 
properties are outside of their home, mosquito gathering sites where 
trash is left not because they want to, but because so much has been 
torn up because of the water and we are waiting for it to be picked up. 
My community, my city needs these resources to do massive pickup of 
tires, massive cleanup of sitting water.
  The Aedes mosquito is the most dangerous of the various Zika-carrying 
mosquitos. You can see that it is none too friendly looking. That is 
why I came to the floor today.
  I want to leave with information directly to pregnant women, to give 
the information that we know to provide them with the importance of the 
issues that we are confronting.
  I include in the Record letters, Mr. Speaker, that I wrote in March 
to the Secretary of Health and Human Services pleading for the task 
force. As well, I include a number of other items.
  I also ask President Obama to look closely at the southern region and 
rim, where States like Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and 
Florida are, because they will be the epicenter. Even though there are 
now 388 cases nationwide, 13 in Virginia, as the summer goes on, this 
is going to be of serious concern.
  Let me suggest to you that this is a situation where women who are 
pregnant are taking heed. Pregnant women in Houston and their doctors 
weigh the risks of the Zika virus. This is a very real circumstance. 
And our climate is very tropical.
  This mother, Tracy Smith, and her children are at their home. Smith 
is pregnant with twins, and she is worried about the approach of the 
mosquito season. So OB/GYN doctors are now having to prepare their 
mothers. What kind of protection should they take? What kind of 
mosquito repellant should they utilize? And what measures? Should they 
have mosquito nets inside their house, even though they may be living 
in an air-conditioned facility?
  But what you say for one mother who may have a more economic level of 
opportunity than others, you need to say for the entire population of 
pregnant women, because there is no doubt. Dr. Hotez has said this is 
going to be a season where we have to be extremely concerned about the 
Zika virus and the Zika-carrying mosquito.
  So what we are suggesting is mosquito traps. And they will be in 
these areas that are attractive to their environment and their trends: 
sitting water, dirty water, wading pools. They are not prohibited, if I 
might say, from getting an airplane ticket. They will get here on their 
own. We have to take it very seriously.
  So, I want an immediate response by this House to pass the 
President's emergency supplemental and to work with the Senate on the 
$1.1 billion that has been requested.

                              {time}  1230

  It is money to save lives of Americans. It is money to give pregnant

[[Page H2139]]

women comfort that their newborn child can be born in this country with 
the best opportunity for survival and, of course, to reach their 
fullest potential.
  Many of you have seen the video, tragically, of those babies with 
small brains that have now been born in countries in South and Central 
America. It is a sentence, although we love everyone, that we should 
not render to an unborn child.
  And to that mother who is looking forward to raising that child, 
either her first or along with her other children, let me tell you what 
the Zika virus will do. Pregnant women can be infected with the Zika 
virus, as I said. The primary way that pregnant women get the Zika 
virus is through the bite of an infected mosquito.
  Zika virus can be spread by a man in sex partners. A pregnant woman 
can pass Zika virus to a fetus. Zika virus can be passed from a 
pregnant woman to a fetus during pregnancy or at delivery and then that 
impact comes at a later time.
  If a pregnant woman is exposed, we don't know how likely she is to 
get Zika. If a pregnant woman is infected, we still don't know how the 
virus will affect her or her pregnancy.
  We don't know how likely it is that Zika will pass to a fetus. We 
don't know, if the fetus is infected, if the fetus will develop birth 
defects. It means that they cannot cure this in the womb.
  We don't know whether her baby will have birth defects. We don't know 
if sexual transmission of the Zika virus poses a different risk of 
birth defects than mosquito-borne transmission.
  So, because we have all these questions, we need the $1.9 billion 
that the President asked, but we need it to begin to answer these 
questions and we need to be able to have doctors like Dr. Hotez, a 
major leader in infectious disease, begin the research to know what is 
the best repellent not in terms of mosquito repellent, but what is the 
best scientific response to this dastardly and predictable potential of 
the Zika-carrying mosquito coming to the United States and having an 
impact on all of those who are excited about looking forward to the 
birth of a newborn baby.
  I hope that, as we return from our work recess, this House and the 
Republican leadership, as was said earlier on the floor, end any 
partisan bickering, any debate or disagreement with the President of 
the United States, and accept the fact that he is the Commander-in-
Chief and that his experts, the Centers for Disease Control, who are 
the entity to which all of us in our respective communities immediately 
turn for assistance on infectious diseases or natural disasters as it 
relates to health care--we call upon them to come to our districts and 
our States.
  We ask them to help us and to make sure that we and our healthcare 
system are doing all that we can to be able to be helpful.
  I do want to end by saying the reason why we are in such an alarm is 
there is now no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat the Zika 
infection so that, if you are infected, as a mother, there is nothing 
right now. So we have to work on the research and the preventative 
aspect in order to protect these unborn children.
  The illness can be mild, with symptoms lasting for several days to a 
week. But it is that unborn child right now and the larger impact we 
have yet to understand.
  People may not be sick. They may not be sick enough to go to the 
hospital. They may not die. For this reason, people might not realize 
that they have been affected. That means we don't know whether their 
infection can cause someone else to be infected because we need to do 
more research.
  We know it is transmitted by this mosquito. We need to make sure we 
understand whether there is any other kinds of transmissions that we 
have.
  We know that there have been Zika travel advisory notices. We know 
that this is not a happy experience for the countries that we have 
listed.
  But I feel compelled to say that the Zika virus has been noted in 
Cape Verde, the Caribbean, Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, the Dominican 
Republic, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, the Commonwealth of 
Puerto Rico, U.S. territories St. Maarten, St. Vincent, The Grenadines, 
Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
  The Zika virus is in Central America--Costa Rica, El Salvador, 
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama--Mexico, the Pacific 
islands, American Samoa, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga.
  The Zika virus is in South America: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, 
Ecuador, French Guinea, Guyana, Paraguay, Surinam, and Venezuela.
  I am not condemning these places. I am only asking that travelers 
take caution. And pregnant women need to take counsel from their OB-
GYN.
  So, my friends, our job and task here in this country is to be the 
umbrella on a rainy day. It is to ensure that the American people have 
all of the information that will help them make very important 
decisions.
  It is to make sure that our health system and our doctors who are in 
their offices, in general medicine or internal medicine, have all the 
information and tools to be able to determine whether a woman has been 
infected and happens to be pregnant.
  So my task here today is to say that we cannot wait. I am disturbed 
that we now have a week and we have not yet passed the emergency 
supplemental to help our friends in Puerto Rico, which, as I indicated, 
have a serious, serious opportunity to be without the resources that 
they need in the tropical climate that they are in to be able to 
confront the Zika virus. That is a U.S. territory. How unfair that is.
  To my friends in this House, you cannot wait any longer. When we come 
back, there needs to be on the floor of the House a bill passing the 
Senate compromise or the $1.9 billion emergency supplemental that the 
President has asked for, as the Commander-in-Chief. We need to roll up 
our sleeves. We need to ensure that the American people are taken care 
of.
  And I just want to add this: Our military personnel are in tropical 
climates. We can treat them with limited dignity absolutely not.
  They must have both the medical personnel and the equipment to either 
be of assistance to places where they are, where the epidemic may be, 
as they did when they were sent to Africa to help set up a hospital 
structure that did not exist.
  We don't know where this will be the worst, and I can assure you that 
our military personnel may be called on, working with the Centers for 
Disease Control. Are we going to leave them without the resources they 
need? I hope not.
  I take my role on the Homeland Security Committee very seriously. It 
is our responsibility to deal with the security of this Nation.
  We have excellent Members who are working hard, such as my dear 
friend Donald Payne, who is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on 
Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications. We work together 
to ensure that America is prepared.
  Right now this Zika-carrying mosquito has the potential for being 
here in the United States and creating havoc among pregnant women and 
possibly others.
  What is our task? It is, Mr. Speaker, to do our job and to prepare 
the American people. We owe that to the great and wonderful people of 
this Nation, to the mothers and fathers expecting that bundle of joy. 
We owe that to all of them.
  Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland 
Security, which has a core mission of emergency preparedness of state 
and local governments to be equipped to react to emergencies make me 
acutely aware of the potential for Zika Virus to be a real challenge 
for state and local governments in the coming months.
  This emerging health issue is a matter of great importance and one 
that must be addressed in timely way through a coordinated effort by 
federal, state and local government joined with community partners.
  Houston Texas has a tropical climate with many climatic similarities 
with other states along the Gulf Coast; parts of Central and South 
America as well as the Caribbean. Tropical climates are hospitable to 
mosquitoes that carry the Zika Virus.
  In addition, Houston has a large and very diverse population that 
travels to many of the Zika Virus impacted zones located throughout 
Central and South America and the Caribbean where mosquito transmission 
of the Zika Virus is the primary means of exposure to the illness.
  I have identified shared concerns among state, and local agency 
officials regarding a need to have a plan to address Zika Virus in

[[Page H2140]]

the Houston and Harris County area that would include every aspect of 
the community.
  For these reasons, I called the Zika Virus planning meeting along the 
Gulf Coast that would include doctors, agency officials, community 
service and faith based organizations to start to build the bridges 
between these communities to defeat Zika whether it was contracted 
through travel or mosquito borne transmissions.
  Houston is fortunate to have diverse community of pastors who serve 
people in need throughout the area. Part of the Zika Virus response 
must be to ensure that we are doing all that we can and should be doing 
to reach every community.
  Congresswoman Jackson Lee's work on environmental mosquito mitigation 
issues:
  As Congresswoman I worked with the EPA to get the word DEET on labels 
for mosquito repellant that contained the ingredient that remains the 
most effective mosquito repellant on the market.
  CDC recommends that DEET is safe for use on children 2 months of age 
or older.
  Congresswoman Jackson Lee's Action Plan:
  National Taskforce on Prevention of Zika Virus infections;
  Target Funding to Tropical Climate areas--like Houston and South 
Texas in the U.S.;
  Focus environmental cleanup of sitting water, and trash (tires) near 
populated areas;
  Public Education campaign targeting all public and private pediatrics 
practices and OB/GYN service for pregnant women;
  DEET Repellent;
  Provide DEET Repellent free to certain high risk populations 
incorporation with private companies [Demand for DEET products will 
likely increase because of Zika Virus in the news.]; Companies need to 
be alerted to sit aside product for tropical areas along the South 
Texas Coast that will have the strongest need for the products; and
  Keep children's wading pools empty of water.
  Goals of the Meeting of Congresswoman Jackson Lee's March 10 Meeting 
in Houston Texas:
  Engage stakeholders in a planning discussion on combating Zika Virus:
  1. Learn what each agency is doing to address Zika Virus
  2. Calm the community through information
  3. Engage key stakeholders outside of government and health care in 
advance of Mosquito Season 2016
  4. Outline the strategy to defeating Zika Virus breeding areas
  5. Learn what needs to be done to effectively communicate with every 
community in the Houston/Harris County area
  6. Discuss the emergency supplemental appropriations proposed by 
President Obama
  What is Zika Virus:
  Zika Virus is spread primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes 
[A-dees] species mosquito. It is important to remember that 80% of 
those who get the Zika Virus will feel no symptoms. The most common 
symptoms of Zika [Zee-Ka] are fever, rash, joint pain, and 
conjunctivitis (red eyes). The CDC reports based on what they know 
about the virus to date--Zika virus illness is usually mild with 
symptoms lasting for several days to a week after being bitten by an 
infected mosquito. People usually don't get sick enough to go to the 
hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika. For this reason, many 
people might not realize they have been infected. Once a person has 
been infected, he or she is likely to be protected from future 
infections.
  What is being done to address Zika Virus:
  Federal: President Obama is seeking $1.6 Billion in emergency 
supplemental appropriations to fund Zika Virus mitigation; response, 
local and state federal agency programs that address environmental 
clean up; public education, community engagement, testing; and mosquito 
abatement.
  CDC has a disease surveillance unit at Bush Intercontinental Airport.
  Importance of advocating for the President's request:
  Congresswoman Jackson Lee advised that offices that will benefit from 
the resources to fight Zika Virus in their communities should make 
their views known regarding the emergency supplemental appropriations.
  Speakers:
  Dr. Peter Hotez, Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and 
Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology, Baylor 
College of Medicine, said.
  4 Key points:
  1. Zika Virus infections will increase over the next few months
  2. Effects of the infections on pregnant women (first trimester)
  3. Impact on the poor
  4. Leadership to fight the spread of Zika Virus must be local
  Dr. Peter Hotez said that Aedes Aegyptus mosquitoes are the greatest 
killer of people in the world. They are also called the yellow fever 
mosquito.
  Dr. Peter Hotez we are expecting 4 million Zika Virus cases in the 
next four months and to date there are over a million cases in Brazil.
  Pregnancy during the first trimester of pregnancy if the mother is 
exposed to the Zika Virus it can invade the central nervous system of 
the developing baby and inhibit brain development, which can result in:
  Still births;
  Microcephaly [occurs in about 1 in every 10,000 births] the rate for 
Zika Virus exposure far exceeds that number. Microcephaly is brain 
under development either at birth or brain fails to develop properly 
after birth: Difficulty walking, Difficulty hearing, Difficulty with 
speech.
  [Not all developmental or health consequences are known]
  There are no tests to detect the virus, but not vaccine or cure.
  Three factors together make Zika Virus a threat to poor communities: 
High concentrations of poverty; the presence of the Aedes mosquitoes; 
environmental conditions that support mosquito breeding near people and 
a lack of resources for people to isolate themselves from mosquitoes 
[screens, replants, air conditioning, etc.].
  Zika virus disease in pregnant women in Bahia, Paraiba, and 
Pernambuco states, supports an association between Zika virus infection 
during early pregnancy and the occurrence of microcephaly.
  Primary source of the virus is through infected mosquito bites. 
People to people transmissions are rare, but can occur if the virus 
load in the body is high sexual contact can spread the virus.
  Leadership must be local; the CDC is only serving in a technical 
advisory role to local and state governments.
  Dr. Umair Shah Executive Director for Harris County Public Health & 
Environmental Services, said:
  Key points:
  1. Partnerships are critical to defeating Zika Virus carrying 
mosquitoes
  2. Zika Virus control requires more than spraying for mosquitoes
  3. Mosquito and animal control use the best methods for preventing 
the spread of disease
  Dr. Umair Shah said that the important lesson from Ebola and Zika is 
there is a strong connection between global health and domestic health.
  We can no longer say that disease is a problem from that foreign 
country, because it will be a problem for the United States if it is 
not addressed wherever it might originate.
  He said that you can only effectively clap with two hands. The 
partnerships that must be developed among local, state and federal 
agencies as well as community leaders are critical to the success of 
winning a fight against the Zika Virus.
  Mosquito control will not be enough to deal with Zika Virus because 
the host mosquito that is a primary carrier has evolved to live on 
human blood--even when given a choice of animal or human blood the 
Aedes Egypti will choose human blood. It lives near the ground--so 
spraying in the air will not work; it likes to be near people; it 
requires very little water to breed; it can hide under leaves, and will 
seek out homes where people live.
  Zika Virus response requires a new approach:
  Education;
  Outreach;
  Personal precaution:
  Cover up to prevent mosquito bites day and night: Slogan ``Prevent 
the bite day and night''
  Environmental cleanup--removing things that will hold water, small 
wading pools for children, gutters, grills, tires, toys, trash, etc.
  If you do not have air conditioning use a WHOPES approved net like 
Pramax (156 holes per square inch and long enough to tuck under the 
mattress)
  Permethrin-treated bed nets provide more protection--do not wash them 
or expose them to sunlight, which would break down an insecticide that 
kills mosquitoes and other insects.
  Important to note: Zika Virus is not in the local mosquito population 
yet.
  All domestic Zika cases except one have been linked to travel.
  Travelers must be educated regarding Zika Virus. They should know the 
symptoms and should seek care. They should not fear being shunned for 
having the virus.
  Dr. Dubboun, Director of the Harris County Public Health 
Environmental Services Mosquito Control Division, prior to his current 
public service he served 25 years in the military.
  Harris County Health Department Zika Website: http://www.hcphes.org/
publications/hcphes responds/ 2016 zi ka virus/
  Key points:
  1. Get rid of the mosquito breeding habitat.
  2. Ecologically people are the preferred food source for Aedes 
mosquitoes.
  3. No need to panic.
  4. The solution to Zika Virus is community involvement.
  Dr. Dubboun traveled to Brazil to join others in his field to sharing 
information on mosquito control with the hope of determining the best 
practices to achieve better results.

[[Page H2141]]

  Dr. Dubboun said that the best approach to ending the threat of Zika 
virus is to get rid of the habitat that is used by the mosquito to 
breed. Ecologically people are the preferred food source for the Aedes 
mosquitoes.
  He said that there was no need to panic because the weather right now 
(March 10, 2016-April 30, 2016) is not great for mosquito breeding, 
which means we have time to address environmental issues that support 
Aedes mosquito breeding.
  Spraying will not work to control the Aedes aegypti mosquito because 
this mosquito does not fly in the air--it stays close to the ground; 
can breed in very small amounts of water; and hide very well.
  The solution to fighting the Zika Virus is community involvement in 
working to minimize the habitats that allow Zika Virus carrying 
mosquitoes to breed.
  Dr. Gruber, Assistant Commissioner from Regional and Local Health 
Services for the State of Texas:
  Key points:
  1. Number of cases in Texas and nearly have are in Harris County they 
are travel related except one;
  2. Core ways to address key elements of a stop Zika effort.
  Dr. Gruber said that he was there from the state to listen to what 
was being said and to communicate that the state was planning to 
support communities in combating Zika Virus.
  On April 14 the state of Texas there have been 31 confirmed cases of 
Zika Virus, we know this because the patients were ill enough to seek 
medical attention and the tests were positive. Twelve of those cases 
were in Harris County.
  It is important to note that 80% of people who will be infected will 
have no symptoms, which means it is not possible to know how many 
people have returned from travel with the virus or antibodies after 
having been exposed.
  1. Core ways to address the existence of Zika Virus:
  a. Health community communication with the public;
  b. Correct vector control;
  c. Surveillance;
  d. Planning;
  e. Keep yards clean; i. Communicate to authorities any needs for 
services to assist with clean up or to address environmental issues 
related to Zika.
  f. The battle against Zika must be viewed as a community fight--we 
must enroll people to become members of the Public Health Army.
  Bishop James Dixon, Community of Faith Church:
  Key points:
  1. The poor are not equipped to protect themselves from anything;
  2. Education is key;
  3. Access to the Community is essential;
  4. Many churches have Haiti Missions that must be educated on this 
issue;
  5. Larger forum to engage the community on the issues of Zika Virus
  6. See others in the world as our neighbors, not as foreigners.
  Bishop Dixon said that we must stop seeing the people of other 
nations as foreigners but neighbors.
  People who are poor do not have the means of helping themselves. By 
the very definition of poverty--it is not just a state of being, but a 
state of existence, a state of mind, and the source of our ability to 
be compassionate, not just think compassionately.
  Education is key to reaching those who are most in need, but breaking 
through the barriers of poverty will require a great deal of effort.
  People must come from outside of these communities into them to knock 
on doors, pick up trash, hang mosquito netting, hand out DEET and show 
people how to use it, help the elderly who cannot do their own yard 
clean up, share with people the city and county numbers to call to 
remove trash and tires, and teach people how to police their yards for 
items that will allow mosquitoes to breed.
  Prevention of Zika Virus transmission to humans must be the goal.
  Houston has a very diverse community of pastors, ministers and 
religious community leaders who should be part of this discussion and 
the solution.
  Dr. S.J. Gilbert Houston Metropolitan said that he wanted to bring 
the Zika Virus issue to the attention of the diverse ministers 
community and would support efforts by Congresswoman Jackson Lee.
  Dr. Raouf Arafat Houston Health and Human Services Office of 
Surveillance and Public Health Preparedness said:
  Key points:
  1. Houston routinely deals with medical or health related 
emergencies;
  2. The talent in the city and county government health departments 
are unmatched in other locations around the nation;
  3. We work well together and see each other as partners;
  4. The Laboratory serves the entire area with testing services;
  5. Training of public health workers is essential; and
  6. Communication is essential.
  City of Houston Website on Zika: http://www.houstontx.gov/health/
Epidemiology/Zika_Virus.html.
  Dr. Arafat said that through surveillance and public health efforts 
that Houston routinely responds to and effectively addresses 
emergencies that never see the light of day because they are well 
managed.
  Disease control and prevention are areas where Houston excels and 
very few areas of the country have a combination of very talented 
people working in city and county government on the issue of public 
health.
  We have laboratory services that can test for Zika Virus, but only in 
cases where the CDC guidelines are met, e.g., recent travel to a region 
with the virus, symptoms consistent with the infection, etc.
  As I have said the virus carrying mosquitoes are not in the Houston 
area.
  My purpose in working on this issue is to make sure that Houston 
along with other Gulf Coast communities is prepared for the 2016 
mosquito season.
  The U.S. has the experience and we should use it to help other 
nations, by doing so we also help ourselves. The strength of the U.S. 
approach is the systems that have been built up and developed over 
time. These systems allow for us in Houston and Harris County to know 
if something serious is occurring in the city.
  On January 1, 2016 people in this field of disease control expressed 
a position that it was important to start working on Zika Virus issues, 
but no one else was thinking about the virus. By January 29 everyone 
was talking about Zika Virus.
  Stephen Williams, Director of Houston Health Department, said:
  Key points:
  1. There is no need to be alarmed;
  2. We have been thinking about this for some time;
  3. The key to success will be personal responsibility; and
  4. Environmental work has already begun.
  Community action is important to meeting the challenge and each 
person must play a part in the overall success of the plan.
  The school education plans for Zika Virus in Houston Texas will begin 
in early to late April.
  During this same period they will be doing a visibility campaign for 
the public to learn about protecting themselves from the virus, which 
will include multipurpose centers and community health clinics.
  There is no need for alarm about the topic of Zika, we deal with and 
take care of situations on a daily basis that no one ever knows about 
that are serious.
  We will be successful in Houston if the funding the President 
requested are approved by Congress.
  The city of Houston began ramping up waste cleanup in low income 
areas like the 3rd Ward located in my District by going after illegal 
dump sites.
  However, breeding sources in yards is not something the city or 
county can take care of.
  If the trash is in a vacant lot or on the side of the road that is 
the government's responsibility, but private property is the owner's or 
occupant's responsibility.
  Houston has organized an incident command structure to combat Zika 
Virus, which is the effort to better coordinate resources and planning 
across agencies.
  Houston Sanitation Department is part of that effort.
  Dr. David Persse, Physician Director, Emergency Medical Services, 
Houston Public Health Authority, said:
  Key points:
  1. Houston Emergency Command Center;
  2. Solid Waste Collection efforts;
  3. Phase I of Zika Virus Response;
  4. Phase II of Zika Virus Response.
  Dr. Persse said Houston's Emergency Command Center has been ramped 
up, which includes Houston Department of Solid Waste, Department of 
Housing and Air Port Authorities, etc.
  Dr. Persse said Houston and Harris County are in Phase I of the Zika 
Virus preparation where there is no virus in mosquitoes in the area and 
the only cases are coming from those who have traveled to areas where 
the infection is transmitted by mosquito bite.
  During this phase Houston and Harris County will focus on 
environmental cleanup of breeding sites and education of homeowners 
about breeding mosquito sites on their property.
  Goal: Get rid of breeding sites.
  Phase II will focus on mosquito breeding and will start in mid-to 
late April into May.
  Julie Graves, (Confirmed) MD, MPH, PhD Regional Medical Director 
Health Service Region 6/5S Texas Department of State Health Services, 
said:
  Dr. Graves said that the need to coordinate among all agencies 
responsible for Zika Virus

[[Page H2142]]

preparation, public education, remediation and control was critical. 
She said that chikungunya virus spread in the Caribbean was attributed 
to the lack of cooperation among governments and agencies.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                         [TIME, Apr. 20, 2016]

           Congress Must Act Immediately To Combat Zika Virus


      Local governments need federal funding to prevent outbreaks

                        (By Sheila Jackson Lee)

       Members of Congress recently received news so chilling that 
     it is imperative that they take immediate action to approve 
     the about $1.9 billion in emergency funding for Zika 
     preparedness requested by the Obama administration. According 
     to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute for 
     Allergy and Infectious Disease, the mosquito that carries the 
     Zika virus, which is already spreading rapidly in Latin 
     America and the Caribbean, has been detected in nearly 30 
     states and could infect hundreds of thousands of people in 
     Puerto Rico.
       In Brazil, Zika has been identified as the cause in many 
     recent cases of microcephaly, a birth defect resulting in 
     babies being born with small heads and developmental 
     problems. Zika poses a special risk for pregnant women since 
     the virus can be transmitted through the bloodstream to the 
     fetus. Previously, it was thought that Zika was only a 
     problem during the first trimester of pregnancy, but 
     according to officials at the Center for Disease Control and 
     Prevention, it has now been learned that the virus is likely 
     to be a problem throughout the term of pregnancy.
       In February, the Obama administration requested Congress to 
     approve about $1.9 billion in emergency Zika prevention 
     funding, but to date Republican congressional leadership has 
     not acted. If Congress does not act to approve the urgently 
     needed funding, federal public health agencies will be forced 
     to divert funding away from research into malaria, 
     tuberculosis and a universal flu vaccine.
       It is outrageous that the Republican congressional 
     leadership is putting at risk the health and safety of 
     hundreds of thousands of persons by refusing to do its job. 
     The impact of that failure of responsibility is likely to be 
     felt most severely in the congressional districts like the 
     one I represent in Houston, Texas.
       Because the summer months in areas along the Gulf Coast and 
     the southwest region of the United States are unusually long 
     and hot, Houston is expected to be an epicenter of any Zika 
     outbreak in the U.S. In impoverished areas of the city and 
     county, there are many open ditches in residential areas and 
     lots where tires are illegally dumped. These are ideal 
     breeding habitats for Aedes aegypti, the mosquito species 
     that carries the Zika virus. Experts now know that it can 
     also be transmitted in other ways, including sex.
       Mosquito control will not be sufficient to limit the spread 
     of the Zika virus because the Aedes aegypti has evolved to 
     live on human blood, which it will choose over animal blood 
     whenever it has the opportunity to do so. This breed of 
     mosquito lives near the ground and near people, which limits 
     the effectiveness of areole spraying. The Aedes aegypti 
     mosquito can breed in a habitat as small as a cup of dirty 
     water, it can hide under leaves, and it will seek out homes 
     where people live.
       To combat the threat posed by Zika, it is essential that 
     the public be enlisted as the first line of defense. But for 
     this effort to be successful, resources must be available to 
     implement community-based mosquito control and abatement 
     programs. That is why I have called upon the Republican 
     congressional leadership to approve the requested about $1.9 
     billion emergency Zika prevention funding immediately, with 
     $100 million dedicated to support local government efforts to 
     conduct environmental cleanup activities to remove items in 
     populated areas that promote mosquito breeding. This funding 
     would also support coordinated public-education campaigns to 
     encourage proactive efforts to seek early medical care when 
     Zika virus symptoms are present, or early in a pregnancy.
       The funding would also provide the resources to teach 
     community residents how to check for and safely address 
     mosquito breeding areas; repair or replace broken or torn 
     door and window screens; and provide DEET mosquito replant 
     products to low-income communities and mosquito netting for 
     beds in homes that have no air conditioning.
       Last month, I convened the first of what are planned to be 
     several strategic planning sessions with state and local 
     officials to prevent any outbreak or spread of the Zika 
     virus. Here in Houston and Harris County we are prepared to 
     meet this serious challenge to public health and safety with 
     determination and resolve. All we are lacking is the federal 
     funding needed to succeed. And that is why Congress must act 
     immediately.
                                  ____

                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                   Washington, DC, March 10, 2016.
     Hon. Sylvia Mathews Burwell,
     Secretary of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of 
         Health and Human Services, Washington, DC.
       Dear Secretary Mathews Burwell: I applaud the President and 
     commend his designation of the U.S. Department of Health and 
     Human Services as the lead federal agency charged with 
     responding to the threat posed by the Zika virus. I am 
     writing to request that the Department of Health and Human 
     Services establish a National Taskforce on the Prevention of 
     Zika Virus infections in pregnant women and girls.
       The Zika Virus is a serious illness for pregnant girls and 
     women. Zika virus can be spread from a pregnant woman to her 
     fetus and has been linked to a serious birth defect of the 
     brain called microcephaly in babies of mothers who had Zika 
     virus while pregnant. Other problems have been detected among 
     fetuses and infants infected with Zika virus before birth, 
     such as absent or poorly developed brain structures, defects 
     of the eye, hearing deficits, and impaired growth. CDC 
     recommends special precautions for pregnant women. There is 
     no treatment or cure for those infected with Zika Virus.
       Experts believe the Zika Virus will be a seasonal epidemic 
     for North America, but will primarily affect those states in 
     the south and will flare up in the summer and continue into 
     the fall in tropical zones. As you know, in Texas we have had 
     particularly hot and long summers, with tropical zones along 
     the Gulf Coast that include Houston Texas. There are two 
     types of the Aedes mosquitoes known to carry the virus that 
     found in the Houston area. Houston will possibly be ground 
     zero for the United States because of environmental 
     conditions that support breeding of mosquitoes that are known 
     to carry Zika Virus in the Americas that are found in close 
     proximity to low income areas and the proximity. Prevention 
     measures consist of community based mosquito control programs 
     that are able to reduce vector populations and personal 
     protection measures to reduce the likelihood of being bitten 
     by infected mosquitos.
       Thank you for your consideration of this request.
           Very truly yours,
                                               Sheila Jackson Lee,
     Member of Congress.

                          ____________________