[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5319-5322]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 3038

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, imagine though, if you will, that this great 
country is facing a potential outbreak of a dangerous virus. It is 
nothing that was made up in the movies, nothing that is on a special TV 
show. It is actually a potential outbreak of a dangerous virus.
  Imagine, mosquitoes are carrying a virus that affects pregnant women, 
a virus that causes birth defects in babies, not allowing their brains 
and skulls to develop. The skulls collapse on a number of them. Brains 
don't develop. It is a virus that can cause men and women to develop 
nervous system disorders that can result in paralysis. We don't know 
the full extent of this.
  We had a briefing here a week ago today with the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. We had 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services here. They are in a state of 
emergency. They need to do something. They need to develop a vaccine. 
This is on its way. It is here.
  It is here in Puerto Rico. We have cases reported in the State of my 
friend, Florida. He is someone with whom I have served in the House and 
in the Senate. Senator Nelson of Florida is one of our very outstanding 
Members.
  We already know there are cases in Florida. Thirty States are going 
to be affected with these mosquitoes as the weather warms. I have been 
told in the past that mosquitoes have never caused birth defects. They 
have caused all kinds of problems with malaria and other things, but 
not birth defects. Now they are here.
  Imagine, after what I have just laid out to you, that those in 
control of Congress do nothing to address the imminent danger posed by 
this virus. It sounds like some science fiction novel; doesn't it? But 
it is not.
  This is real life in America. This is the reality--the Republicans' 
refusal to respond to the threat of Zika. My friend mentioned that the 
senior Senator from Washington is involved in trying to come up with 
something for Zika. She said yesterday she hasn't heard a word from the 
Republicans in more than a week on this important issue.
  This is real life. Zika is a scourge that is already affecting our 
country, as I have outlined. It is time we pass an emergency 
appropriations bill to take care of it, to fight it. Out of tradition, 
common sense, and precedent, a public health threat is an emergency, 
and it demands a response.
  As I indicated, hundreds of people in Puerto Rico--quickly 
approaching a thousand--are infected. As the weather warms, as I have 
indicated, it is going to multiply throughout the continental United 
States. Thirty States will likely be affected with this mosquito--this 
killer mosquito.
  More than 2 months ago my friend said: We need more from the 
administration. More than 2 months ago the administration--desperate as 
they were--sent a letter to Congress saying we need an emergency 
request of $1.9 billion--out of desperation.
  What did the White House do? Two years ago we were fighting Ebola. It 
is still a serious worldwide problem and a problem for our country. 
They had to take money from vaccines they were working on for Ebola and 
other things and start doing Zika. Now we have a situation where both 
the mosquito-caused Zika and the Ebola scourge are underfunded now. 
Republicans have done a double whammy here. We need to give the money 
back to the agencies that are doing something to help Ebola and fund 
Zika.
  They haven't lifted a finger that we are aware of. As I said 
yesterday, the senior Senator from Washington hasn't heard from the so-
called negotiators in more than a week. They refuse to do anything, 
even as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National 
Institutes of Health are pleading for us to act. They have been very 
clear about the funding they need to fight Zika. They are not making up 
things. They have told us in line and verse.
  My friend, the Republican leader said: We need more from the 
administration. It wasn't all that long ago that my friend the 
Republican leader was singing a much different song. This is what he 
said about funding the outbreak of Ebola 2 years ago, and it is a 
direct quote:

       I think they should have anything they want. . . . Whatever 
     the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] thinks they 
     need, we'll give it to them.

  He said the same thing 7 years ago when we were faced with another 
real problem, swine flu. This is what he said then: ``So if [the 
Administration] needs anything additionally from Congress, I know we'll 
be happy to provide it on a totally bipartisan basis.''
  Fast forward 7 years, and the Republicans now in the majority won't 
provide the requested funding for Zika. Why? We know why. They can't 
get it through over here. They can't get it done.
  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National 
Institutes of Health know what they need. They have told us. They told 
anyone who will listen.
  So why can't the Republicans give it to them. If they won't give the 
experts the resources they need to combat Zika, what do they propose? 
We could ask the Zika-carrying mosquitoes: Don't breed this year.
  Remember, anyway, that it is in the last term of a two-term 
President. Maybe we shouldn't do it this year.
  The Senate should not leave today without addressing this serious 
issue. We shouldn't be taking 10 days off as a dangerous virus 
threatens this Nation--and it is threatening us. The Republicans should 
do their job and pass a $1.9 billion emergency spending bill to help 
protect Americans from the Zika virus.
  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, will the Senator yield before he makes the 
request?
  Mr. REID. I am pleased to do that. I want the record to be spread 
with the fact that this good man--more than any other Senator, because 
of what he is facing and will face in the very hot, humid, and 
sometimes tropical State of Florida--recognized this a long time ago. I 
admire him being ahead of this issue. He has been out there in the 
front and some of us have been trying to catch up with him.
  I yield to the Senator.
  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I thank the Senator for yielding. I wish 
to add to his comments from this Senator's personal perspective.
  The State of Florida presently has 94 infected cases that we know of, 
including 5 pregnant women whom we know of.
  We also have a very mobile and sizeable population of Puerto Ricans 
who go to that island, where, lo and behold, it is estimated that up to 
20 percent of the population could ultimately be infected. There are 
upwards of close to 100 cases--multiple hundreds--that we know of. I 
think the actual number is in the eighties of pregnant women whom we 
know of who are infected in the United States.
  As the leader has already described, this has horrendous 
consequences, not only to the families but there is also the cost to 
society because of the deformed babies that result--and not necessarily 
at birth. These defects may

[[Page 5320]]

come years later, but that is a huge cost to society, not even to speak 
of the human tragedy.
  So is it any wonder that I join with the minority leader in begging 
for this emergency appropriations of $1.9 billion.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a summary of the 
amendment and a letter from the President detailing his request be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

   Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Request to Fight Zika--$1.9 
                           billion (S. 2843)


     Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)--$1.509 billion

       Centers for Disease Control and Prevention--$743 million to 
     support Zika prevention and response strategies, including: 
     domestic response efforts to prevent, detect and respond to 
     Zika; providing grants and technical assistance to Puerto 
     Rico and U.S. Territories; and international CDC response 
     activities, including expanding field epidemiology resources 
     and infectious disease surveillance.
       Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services--$246 million to 
     support increasing the Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance 
     Percentage (FMAP) from 55 to 65 percent for one year in 
     Puerto Rico and other U.S. Territories.
       National Institutes of Health--$277 million to support 
     efforts to develop a vaccine for Zika, as well as to support 
     basic research on Zika virus.
       Food and Drug Administration--$10 million to support 
     vaccine and diagnostic development review.
       Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority 
     (BARDA)--$188 million to support vaccines and diagnostics 
     development and procurement.
       Health Resources and Services Administration--$20 million 
     to support health centers, the Maternal and Child Health 
     Block Grant/Home Visiting, the National Health Service Corps, 
     and the Countermeasures Injury Protection Program.
       Other HHS activities--$25 million for urgent and emerging 
     threats.


                    Department of State--$41 million

       Supports U.S. citizens in affected countries, medical 
     support for State Department employees in affected countries, 
     public diplomacy, communications, and other operations 
     activities. Also supports the World Health Organization and 
     its regional arm, the Pan American Health Organization. These 
     resources would support critical public health actions 
     underway, including preparedness, surveillance, data 
     collection, and risk communication. Activities would also 
     include support for the UN Children's Fund's (UNICEF) Zika 
     response efforts in Brazil, and support for the International 
     Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to bolster diagnostic 
     capabilities through deployment of equipment, and specialized 
     training and to implement projects to suppress mosquito 
     populations in affected areas.


    United States Agency for International Development--$335 million

       Supports affected countries' ability to control mosquitoes 
     and the transmission of the virus, support maternal health, 
     expand public education on prevention and response, and to 
     create new incentives for the development of vaccines and 
     diagnostics.
       The bill also replenishes Ebola money that was reprogrammed 
     for Zika--$510 million on April 6, 2016, the Administration 
     announced that it had to act to address the growing Zika 
     emergency, so it identified $589 million--including $510 
     million of existing Ebola resources within HHS, State and 
     USAID--to be redirected to immediate activities to fight 
     Zika. The $1.9 billion will replenish the redirected Ebola 
     funds: $215 for HHS Ebola balances and $295 for State/USAID 
     Ebola balances.
                                  ____



                                              The White House,

                                    Washington, February 22, 2016.
     Hon. Paul D. Ryan,
     Speaker of the House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Speaker: Today, I ask the Congress to consider the 
     enclosed FY 2016 emergency supplemental appropriations 
     request of approximately $1.9 billion to respond to the Zika 
     virus both domestically and internationally. This funding 
     would build upon ongoing preparedness efforts and provide 
     resources for the Departments of Health and Human Services 
     and State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development 
     (USAID). Funding would support immediate response activities 
     to prevent the spread of, prepare for, and respond to Zika 
     virus transmission; fortify domestic public health systems to 
     prevent, detect, and respond to Zika virus transmission; 
     speed research, development, and procurement of vaccines, 
     therapeutics, and diagnostics; provide emergency assistance 
     to States and the U.S. Territories to combat the virus; 
     provide additional Federal Medicaid funding in Puerto Rico 
     and the other U.S. Territories for health services for 
     pregnant women at risk of infection or diagnosed with Zika 
     virus, and for children with microcephaly, and for other 
     health care costs; and enhance the ability of Zika-affected 
     countries to better combat mosquitoes, control transmission, 
     and support affected populations.
       The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 50 
     laboratory-confirmed cases of the Zika virus among U.S. 
     travelers from December 2015-February 5, 2016. In addition, 
     the Pan American Health Organization reports 26 countries and 
     territories in the Americas with local Zika transmission. On 
     February 1, 2016, the World Health Organization declared the 
     Zika virus a Public Health Emergency of International 
     Concern.
       My foremost priority is to protect the health and safety of 
     Americans. This request supports the necessary steps to 
     fortify our domestic health system, detect and respond to any 
     potential Zika outbreaks at home, and to limit the spread in 
     other countries.
       The request includes approximately $1.9 billion to respond 
     to Zika virus transmission across the United States and 
     internationally. In addition, transfer authority is requested 
     to allow for sufficient response and flexibility across the 
     Federal Government to address changing circumstances and 
     emerging needs related to the Zika virus.
       My Administration requests that the funding described above 
     be designated as emergency requirements pursuant to section 
     251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
     Control Act of 1985, as amended.
       I urge the Congress to act expeditiously in considering 
     this important request, the details of which are set forth in 
     the enclosed letter from the Director of the Office of 
     Management and Budget.
           Sincerely,
                                                        Barack Obama.  

  Mr. REID. The record should reflect that the people of Puerto Rico 
are American citizens.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the 
consideration of Calendar No. 157, H.R. 3038; that all after the 
enacting clause be stricken; that the Nelson substitute amendment to 
enhance the Federal response and preparedness with respect to the Zika 
virus, which is at the desk, be agreed to; that there be up to 2 hours 
of debate, equally divided between the two leaders or their designees; 
that upon the use or yielding back of time, the bill, as amended, be 
read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of the bill, as 
amended, with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The assistant majority leader.
  Mr. CORNYN. Reserving the right to object, there is bipartisan 
support for doing what we need to do to address the Zika virus, which, 
as the Senator from Florida correctly pointed out, has dramatically 
affected the territory of Puerto Rico. Fortunately, according to the 
latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, there is no 
single case in the continental United States of a mosquito-borne 
infection in someone in the continental United States. But that is not 
to say this is not a serious matter. In fact, it is. That is why 
Republicans were glad to see the administration use the unexpended 
funds for the Ebola crisis--some $500 million--as a downpayment on what 
is going to be necessary to deal with this.
  But the fact is, our friends across the aisle have requested a $1.9 
billion blank check, and they haven't told us what the plan is for the 
use of the funds. In the bill filed by Senator Nelson, he said those 
funds will be spent until they are gone. And, of course, it is 
emergency spending, which is deficit spending and adds to the debt. But 
the legislation completely lacks any sort of accountability that would 
only come through a regular appropriations process where we consider 
this in a deliberate sort of way. So I have a number of questions for 
the Senator that I would ask.
  I would note that I have traveled to the Galveston National 
Laboratory, which has done some world-class research in this area and 
also on the Ebola virus and other infectious diseases. Last Friday I 
was in Houston at the Texas Medical Center talking to the experts and 
trying to learn more about this so I can do my job as a Senator in a 
responsible sort of way.
  We all agree that this is a serious matter and it should be 
negotiated on a bipartisan basis, but we should at least have a plan 
from the administration for how the money is going to be spent. There 
is no plan. It is a blank check. And until we get a plan and can sit 
down and avoid the histrionics and

[[Page 5321]]

the gamesmanship and the partisanship on something that should be 
nonpartisan, we object to the request.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, my friend the assistant Republican leader 
has a lot of nerve. There have been a lot of States affected with 
emergencies in the last decade, and Texas has had its share. We have 
been willing to help them on floods and fires and all the other 
problems they have had, some of them manmade, some of them not so. 
Those were emergencies; this is an emergency.
  For the Republicans to come to this body this morning and say there 
is no plan--there is a plan. Of course there is a plan. There is $1.9 
billion. Pay back the money for Ebola so we can continue that. That is 
$500 million right there. We also want to do something to help Puerto 
Rico, which needs to be done. That is approximately $200 million. We 
have some help--a minimum amount--for countries outside the United 
States where these mosquitoes are breeding. We want to try to do 
something about that. And, of course, most of the money here is for 
research to come up with vaccines and other programs to alleviate the 
disaster facing this country. The President has outlined that, and the 
Senator from Florida has outlined that.
  To have the assistant majority leader say that we need to sit down 
and negotiate--we are not in the majority. They have an obligation to 
bring something to the floor. If there is bipartisan support to do 
something, why aren't the Republicans doing something? Wait and wait 
while we are home glad-handing people during the next week? We should 
be doing something here to address this emergency. It is an emergency.
  Mr. NELSON. Will the Senator yield, Mr. President?
  Mr. REID. Yes, I will.
  Mr. NELSON. In answering directly the question of the Senator from 
Texas, before he objected, he wanted to ask this Senator a question as 
to what is the plan.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, has the Democratic leader yielded the 
floor, or is it for a question?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader has yielded the floor 
for a question.
  Mr. NELSON. All right, I will put it in the form of a question.
  Does the Democratic leader believe that this Senator has spoken many 
times on the floor laying out the specifics of the request of $1.9 
billion, which includes the replenishment of $589 million to the Ebola 
fund which had been advanced to fight this emergency? Does the Senator 
believe that? And does the Senator further believe that I have in my 
hand that breakdown that I have had printed in the Record?
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, to my friend from Florida, yes. And where 
did he get that information in preparing this legislation? He got it 
from the administration. Everybody knows what is in this legislation. 
What my friend the assistant Republican leader said is nonsense.
  If there is some bipartisan support--and I am confident they would 
come up with something--we would do our best to try to support it, but 
this is the legislation we need. This is a desperate situation, and it 
is going to become more desperate as each day goes by because the 
summer season is fast approaching.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The assistant majority leader.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, let me just suggest that, contrary to what 
the Democratic leader has said, the questions I have asked about where 
their plan is are not nonsense, and let me demonstrate the specific 
questions which I have and which I think other responsible Senators are 
going to want answers to before we write a blank check for $1.9 billion 
to the administration, particularly when they already have access, as 
the Senator from Florida said, to the $589 million, which are 
unexpended Ebola funds.
  One of the questions I would like to get answers to--and I think we 
can then have a meaningful discussion and act responsibly--is, What 
specific activities are going to be funded by the $1.9 billion plan? 
For example, the bill from the Senator from Florida provides $743 
million to the Centers for Disease Control. Is that for domestic 
activities? Is it focused on Puerto Rico? Is it for CDC international 
activities? And if so, where?
  The second question I have is, What are the agency's priorities? 
Continuing with the CDC issue, will they focus on vector control 
activities, outreach, and education? As we know, this is a mosquito-
borne disease. It is not the only mosquito-borne disease, but 
unfortunately this mosquito has not only been present in Central and 
South America but is now, as the Democratic leader says, present in 
some of the more tropical climates, the warmer climates, including my 
State of Texas. So I take this personally and seriously. But it also 
affects Florida, no doubt about it, Louisiana, and we don't know how it 
might spread or how this virus might morph over time.
  Another question I have is, How long does the administration expect 
to use the funding? For example, we have an annual appropriations 
process, which has been filibustered by our Democratic colleagues, 
starting with the Energy and Water bill, and now they want us to fund 
an emergency appropriation for an unlimited period of time without any 
plan to spend the money. That is irresponsible.
  The request from the Senator from Florida in his bill says the money 
will be spent ``until expended,'' until it runs out, and they have 
provided no further details on what will be funded this year and in 
future years.
  The reason I mention the appropriations process is that we all know 
we are in the appropriations season now, and it would be appropriate 
for the Committee on Appropriations to process this request and to come 
up with a recommendation for the full Senate, but that has not yet 
happened. I am told the discussions are ongoing, which is a good thing, 
and that is where this ought to be resolved, not through grandstanding 
on the Senate floor in an effort to try to make this a partisan issue. 
This is not a partisan or political issue. It should not be. There is 
bipartisan concern and willingness to address this issue. But can they 
spend $1.9 billion before the end of the fiscal year, when the 
appropriations process will start up again? In other words, it doesn't 
take a lot of thought to realize this is a request for a blank check 
without regard for the accountability that comes from what we call the 
regular order here in the appropriations process in the Senate.
  We know the administration transferred funding from unobligated Ebola 
funds 2 weeks ago. What is the administration using that $589 million 
for that is related to Zika? I think we should know the answer to that. 
And that also demonstrates what happens when Congress appropriates 
money on an emergency basis without knowing what the plan is, because 
obviously the Ebola crisis has abated to some extent. I am not saying 
it has gone away completely, particularly in countries like Africa, but 
there is a pot of money--$589 million--which suggests maybe we 
inadvertently appropriated more money on an emergency basis for the 
Ebola crisis than ultimately was necessary. I am not faulting anybody 
for that; I am just saying that is the way this works when you ask for 
the money first without a plan and there is no accountability for how 
the money is spent. You have these pots of money out there that are--
fortunately in this case--available now to deal with the Zika issue.
  In the Health and Human Services request contained in the bill from 
the Senator from Florida, there are other issues. One, they ask for a 
governmentwide contingency fund that Health and Human Services controls 
and can transfer funds elsewhere. So what they want to do is play a 
shell game with this money. They want to get the money, and if they do 
not need it to deal with Zika, they can transfer it for other 
purposes--again, without any transparency or any real political 
accountability.
  I think responsible Members of the Senate--and I would expect all 100 
of us would put ourselves in that category--would want to know where 
the transparency is, where the accountability is,

[[Page 5322]]

where the plan is, so we can sit down and do this as mature adults in a 
nonpartisan way in order to solve the problem.
  Here is another thing that sort of jumps out at me: When I look at 
the President's request for $1.9 billion, they actually talk about 
funding matters unrelated to Zika. They talk about funding things at 
the Environmental Protection Agency. And looking at the request to 
transfer funds governmentwide, basically they are requesting money, it 
appears--unless there is some logical explanation as to why we should, 
which they have not yet made--on an emergency basis, to grant funds to 
the Environmental Protection Agency. That is a little hard to 
understand.
  Finally, there is this: All of us are willing to deal with this in a 
responsible, nonpartisan way. That is the reason I have spent time at 
the Galveston National Laboratory and the Texas Medical Center trying 
to learn as much as I can about this, so I can do my job, just as I am 
sure every individual Senator wants to do their job in a responsible 
way. But to come in and ask for $1.9 billion in emergency funding, 
which means it is not paid for--it is borrowed money, which adds to the 
deficit and the debt--is a pretty serious matter, especially when our 
national debt is $19 trillion and has almost doubled under the Obama 
administration.
  This is a very serious matter, and I treat it seriously, and I trust 
all 100 Senators believe this is something we ought to deal with 
responsibly and in a deliberate sort of way, and we will. But it is not 
by coming to the floor and grandstanding by asking for $1.9 billion 
blank checks without any plan to spend it in an appropriate sort of 
way.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

                          ____________________