[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 80 (Thursday, May 19, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E753]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          PASSAGE OF H.R. 5243

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                        HON. STACEY E. PLASKETT

                         of the virgin islands

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 19, 2016

  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, last night, this Congress passed a bill to 
allocate funding for resources to fight the spread of the Zika virus. 
This funding, however, is woefully insufficient.
  H.R. 5243 provides less than one-third of the White House request 
sent to Congress earlier this year.
  Additionally, this bill also completely neglects the immediate needs 
of the territories of Puerto Rico and my home district of the U.S. 
Virgin Islands, which are both on the front line of this public health 
crisis.
  Of the 1200 confirmed cases in the United States, more than half have 
been reported in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
  While the Administration requested about $256 million in health care 
assistance to the territories, H.R. 5243 bill provides no targeted 
funding to the U.S. Territories.
  The House bill also cuts the request for research and development of 
vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics by $132 million or 28.4 percent.
  The lack of funding for these public health activities will put 
hundreds of thousands of pregnant women at risk. The lifetime cost of 
treating a child with microcephaly is estimated to be more than $10 
million--a cost that will only exacerbate the financial woes of the 
territories' public health apparatus.
  Mr. Speaker, every day this Congress debates whether or not to 
protect women and unborn children from this virus, more cases are being 
reported and confirmed.
  Just last week, the first U.S. case of Zika-related microcephaly was 
identified in a pregnancy in Puerto Rico.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on my colleagues to continue toward funding the 
President's emergency request to fight the Zika virus. We need to 
eradicate this mosquito now. We cannot wait for June for more 
authorized funding.

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