[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 81 (Monday, May 23, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3040-S3041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               ZIKA VIRUS

  Mr. REID. Madam President, last Friday, as he should, President Obama 
gave the Nation an update on the fight against Zika, this virus that 
has become such a difficult issue to face.
  Here are the facts, as outlined by President Obama and reported by 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: As we speak, there are 
more than 500 confirmed cases of Zika in the continental United States. 
There are at least 800 confirmed cases of infection in Puerto Rico, and 
most experts believe the actual number is significantly higher. There 
are 279 pregnant women in the continental United States and territories 
who are being monitored for possible Zika infection. We have yet to 
confirm any local transmission from Zika-carrying mosquitoes in the 
continental United States.
  Remember, we have had an unseasonably cold spring. That means that a 
mosquito with Zika has not yet infected anyone on the mainland. But the 
public health experts tell us that is going to change as soon as it 
warms up, and it is nearing the warmup time now. It is only when the 
warm weather hits that the mosquitoes become active, and they really 
become active. These pests are capable of transmitting Zika and are in 
39 States. Residents of our Nation's most populated cities--such as New 
York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston--could be at risk of infection.
  This map says it all. There are some places where there is only one 
type of mosquito, and, of course, the worst is the blue, as shown on 
the map. But there are places where there is a mixture of mosquitoes.
  There are two kinds of mosquitoes that cause a problem. It is spread 
to people primarily through the body of an infected mosquito. But look 
where it goes--from Maine to Texas, even reaching into Northern 
California, Las Vegas, and we see red up there, in Boulder, CO. So it 
is a concern, a real concern.
  For pregnant women, contracting Zika could mean devastating birth 
defects for their children, as we know, with these tiny little heads 
and underdeveloped brains and collapsed skulls.
  For others, the dangers of Zika range from possible nervous system 
disorders and potential paralysis to minor symptoms such as rashes and 
fever like the flu. This is the threat that Republicans in Congress 
have been ignoring for many months now.
  Back in February--we are fast approaching June. In February, 
President Obama sent an emergency appropriations request to Congress 
for almost $2 billion--$1.9 billion is the exact figure--to fight Zika. 
It wasn't some number that he picked out of a hat. This is a figure 
that researchers, public health experts, and doctors explicitly 
requested, and $1.9 billion is what our country needs. That is the 
number that I support and Democrats support. Anything less than that is 
simply not enough.
  Republicans did nothing in response to the President's request, 
letting weeks and weeks go by as the number of infected Americans grew. 
Because of Republicans' refusal to allocate Zika funding, President 
Obama had to act. He did the only thing he could do: He used $510 
million in Ebola money to fight the spread of Zika.

[[Page S3041]]

  It was 18 months ago that we were first hit with the Ebola scare. It 
was a scare--and rightfully so. We were panicked about Ebola. Americans 
had been infected with this awful disease. But the only thing we could 
do was to do more to find out how we could stop it with a vaccine and 
with other treatments. It takes money to do that. But to take more than 
half a billion dollars of Ebola money and fight the spread of Zika is 
taking from Peter to pay Paul.
  What choice did President Obama have? They were ignoring his pleas 
for help. Now that they can no longer ignore Zika, Republicans in 
Congress are reluctantly going through the motions of providing 
funding. As my friend the Republican leader said, we have taken care of 
Zika here on the floor--how wrong, how misleading. The Senate agreed to 
provide $1.1 billion--about half of what President Obama requested. But 
everyone knows that is not going to do the trick because that money is 
not going to be coming until sometime this fall.
  To make matters worse, the Senate-passed $1.1 billion package would 
do nothing to pay back the Ebola money. It would pay back a tiny 
fraction of the $510 million in Ebola funds that are so necessary to 
continue the work on Ebola. The Senate's $1.1 billion is also wrapped 
up in the appropriations process.
  Appropriations bills take months to get done. By the time it gets to 
the President's desk, it will be fall. We will know by then how much 
damage has been done because of the Republicans' inability and refusal 
to help us with that money. The American people should not have to wait 
that long. That is why Senate Democrats have repeatedly come to the 
floor and asked that we move to a Zika funding package as a stand-alone 
bill, separating from the very slow and tedious appropriations process. 
But each time, Republican leadership has objected. Senate Republicans 
don't want to expedite the issue. They would prefer that our response 
to Zika be wrapped up in a drawn-out appropriations process. Our Nation 
cannot afford the unnecessary delay.
  House Republicans could not even pass a budget. Now we are depending 
on them to pass an appropriations bill before we do anything on Zika. 
They don't have a budget. These are the same House Republicans who last 
week passed legislation to give President Obama a third--$622 million--
of what the President asked. In fact, it is a little less than a third. 
Guess what. Guess where they are going to get that money. They are 
going to take it by raiding more Ebola money. Our Nation has spent the 
last 2 years fighting Ebola. But although we have been successful in 
responding to Ebola, it remains a threat. We do not have the ability to 
handle that disease.
  Last week, the White House reported that CDC officials in West Africa 
are processing 10,000 new Ebola samples a month. We can't afford to 
drop our guard on Ebola. That is what the Republicans are telling us to 
do. If we take these funds away from our Nation's response to the Ebola 
virus and we use them instead to underfund our response to Zika, we are 
ensuring that our defenses against both are inadequate. That is 
irresponsible and terribly dangerous.
  I don't understand the Republicans' refusal to take Zika seriously. 
Why do they refuse to listen to the experts who tell us they need the 
full $1.9 billion to be able to fight this devastating virus? It is as 
if the Republicans are betting that Zika will not be a disaster--like 
the horse race we had in Baltimore on Saturday. This is not a bet. It 
is as if they are betting against all the experts at the CDC and NIH 
who say the Zika virus is a real threat to Americans. They are saying 
it is a real threat to Americans because it is. Instead of gambling 
with the health and safety of millions of Americans, Republicans should 
give our Nation the money it needs to fight Zika, and they should do it 
now--not next month, not in the fall but now.
  As the President said on Friday, we in Congress should not leave for 
the Memorial Day break without having taken care of this issue. He is 
so right. We have been on record for weeks saying the same thing. We 
don't need more time off. We already hold the record for working less 
time. This Senate is working less time than any Congress in the last 
six or seven decades. We don't need more time off. So next week, rather 
than taking some time off, let's get the legislation to the White House 
appropriating that money.
  We have time to get out ahead of Zika, but we need to do it now. That 
window is rapidly closing by the day. Let's work together and do it 
now--Democrats and Republicans--to give our Nation the tools it needs 
to keep the American people safe from the virus. Right now, we are not 
safe.

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