[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 75 (Thursday, May 12, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H2292]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               ZIKA VIRUS

  (Mr. RUIZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RUIZ. Madam Speaker, recently I called for a vote on legislation 
to address the threat of the Zika virus, but nothing was done. Now 
there are more than 1,000 and rising confirmed cases of Zika in the 
United States and its territories.
  Pregnant women and their children across the country are now more at 
risk as the summer months and mosquito season approach. It is just a 
matter of time.
  In fact, on Monday the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control 
District confirmed that the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can carry 
Zika, was detected in my hometown of Coachella.
  Madam Speaker, no vote, no funding, means that you are willing to 
accept that children will be born with microcephaly. Allowing gridlock, 
hyperpartisanship, and congressional dysfunction to put women and their 
children at high risk is unacceptable to me and American families.
  As an emergency physician, I know that emergency funding now will 
allow physicians and scientists to better protect the health security 
of women and their children.
  Madam Speaker, let's vote on emergency funding to combat Zika now 
before it is too late.

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