[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11930]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                FUNDING FOR RESPONSE TO THE ZIKA CRISIS

  (Mr. HIMES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, I rise to ask, to beseech, really, that this 
House take immediate action to fully fund our country's response to the 
spreading horror of Zika.
  Mr. Speaker, there are now thousands of confirmed cases of Zika in 
the United States. Hundreds of these cases are pregnant women.
  Can you imagine the terror they experience wondering whether their 
child will be born with horrible disabilities?
  What must they think as they see our public health experts coming to 
Congress?
  These are the people who helped end the Ebola crisis. They come to 
Congress and they say: We need these resources.
  The call has been made, but it has not been answered because some in 
this House think that, yes, your concerns are real, but we have to 
continue the fight about Planned Parenthood. Yes, my pregnant friend, 
your concerns are real, but we have unfinished business about the 
Confederate flag.
  What must they think?
  Mr. Speaker, the call has been issued. This is a national emergency. 
We need to act not tomorrow, not next week, but today to help these 
people with the Zika virus.

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