[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9928]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 ZIKA VIRUS AND VA-MILCON FUNDING BILL

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, combatting the spread of the Zika 
virus should be a priority for both parties. We worked hard to forge a 
compromise solution that made $1.1 billion available to fight this 
virus. That compromise plan already passed the Senate with unanimous 
support of Democrats.
  We now have a bicameral agreement that provides the exact same 
compromise level of funding. The House did its job and approved the 
legislation. The Senate can now do its job to send that legislation 
down to the President.
  Democrats joined Republicans in sounding the alarm about Zika, but 
now we are at the finish line, and suddenly our friends across the 
aisle are changing their tune. Here is what the fourth-ranking Senate 
Democrat recently said:

       Families are looking to Congress for action on Zika. It is 
     well past time that we delivered.

  So will she help the Senate deliver tomorrow or play partisan 
politics?
  Here is what the third-ranking Senate Democrat recently said: ``Every 
day we wait, every day is increasing the risk that we will have 
problems with Zika.'' So will he help the Senate to take action 
tomorrow or play partisan politics?
  The second-ranking Democrat recently said that ``the mosquitoes 
carrying this deadly virus are on the march.'' So will he help the 
Senate arrest that march before the Fourth of July or play partisan 
politics?
  Here is what the Democratic leader recently said: ``Every day we wait 
is a bad day . . . for America and the world.'' So will he help the 
Senate pass this $1.1 billion Zika control funding compromise or play 
partisan politics and delay action for weeks?
  The White House, which recently called for congressional action on 
Zika by July 4, said:

       [T]he time to prepare before Zika begins to spread in the 
     continental United States is rapidly closing. . . . [W]e need 
     some congressional action. We need a sense of urgency and we 
     need it now.

  Democrats have tried to claim they weren't involved in negotiations 
over this legislation, but they were from beginning to end, and the 
House agreed to the funding level that Democrats supported unanimously.
  Democrats have tried to trot out the ``war on women'' playbook, but 
this legislation actually provides more resources for women's health 
services--through hospitals, health departments, community health 
centers, and other public programs.
  Democrats have even tried to claim that this Zika legislation would 
endanger clean water protections, but it won't. It contains a 
temporary, targeted compromise that will allow experts to actually get 
at mosquito control, the root cause of Zika, in an effective way while 
we wait for a vaccine. The agreement before us is a compromise with 
input from both parties, and it represents the last chance we will have 
to address Zika for weeks.
  The CDC Director testified that the $1.1 billion funding level will 
allow him ``to do the things we need to do in the immediate term.'' He 
said: ``The sooner we get a bill, the better.''
  Senate Democrats have already unanimously supported the $1.1 billion 
in funding to combat the virus. Voting to block this bill now will 
delay Zika control funding well beyond the White House's deadlines.
  So look, there is no reason Democrats should reverse course now and 
block funding for Zika control in the midst of mosquito season. There 
is no reason they should put partisan politics above the health of 
pregnant women and babies, and there is no reason they should block 
support for our veterans, either.
  The legislation before us will honor commitments to the men and women 
who have served to protect us. It includes a significant increase for 
the VA to help improve the quality of health care services and benefits 
that our veterans have earned, it will enhance oversight and 
accountability at the VA, and it will help improve quality of life on 
military bases for soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and their 
families.
  Our men and women in uniform make sacrifices daily on our behalf--
sacrifices such as missing special moments with their families, being 
stationed in distant places far from home, suffering physical wounds 
they will carry with them long after their service is over.
  Sadly, too many of our servicemembers are also burdened by wounds 
that cannot be seen, such as traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic 
stress disorder. We are reminded of their daily sacrifices on this 
National PTSD Awareness Day.
  We know that too many of our veterans and their families are 
unfortunately all too familiar with the challenges and sorrows this 
condition can bring. We know too that while our warriors may return 
home from the battlefield due to effective medevac and trauma care, 
there is a generation of warriors who will need treatment and support 
literally for decades to come.
  We owe this support to the servicemembers who drove Al Qaeda from 
Afghanistan and offered the Iraqis an opportunity for a better future. 
We owe it to each and every veteran who has sacrificed to help keep us 
safe.
  We have an all-volunteer force in this country. The young men and 
women who sign up to defend our Nation don't ask for very much, but our 
Nation certainly asks a lot of them. They deserve the benefits, care, 
and treatment they have earned.
  We need to pass the Veterans Affairs and Military Construction 
funding bill before us as soon as possible.

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