[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12657-12658]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              PEOPLE ARE JUSTIFIABLY CONCERNED ABOUT ZIKA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
New York (Ms. Velazquez) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, after one of the longest congressional 
breaks in history, House Republicans are trying to wrap things up and 
leave town, leaving critical work unfinished. Meanwhile, millions of 
Americans in New York, Florida, and throughout the United States are 
justifiably concerned about the dangers of the Zika virus.
  Nowhere has this disease hit harder than in Puerto Rico, where Zika 
has become an epidemic. As of last week, more than 1,380 pregnant women 
in Puerto Rico have been diagnosed with Zika; and overall, there have 
been 16,000 laboratory cases of the virus found on the island.

                              {time}  1015

  It would be a tragic and heartbreaking mistake for this Congress to 
ignore the severity of this threat. Let us be clear: this is the first 
time we have identified a ``mosquito-borne'' form of birth defect. It 
is also the first new, major infectious cause of birth defects in five 
decades.
  There are some things we do not know about the Zika virus. It is not 
clear what proportion of infants affected by the virus will suffer 
birth defects, but what we have seen so far is saddening, troubling, 
and horrifying. To look upon their helpless faces and do nothing is 
unconscionable. Yet, despite what we do not know, one thing is 
tragically clear: this House has failed to provide adequate resources 
to address this danger.
  It has now been 7 months since President Obama's administration 
requested

[[Page 12658]]

adequate resources to help stem the threat of Zika, but House 
Republicans have taken zero--I repeat, zero--votes on adequate funding 
that will help tackle this problem.
  Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is telling us 
they are running out of money to deal with this potential catastrophe. 
There are critical public health steps we need to take but cannot 
because the CDC is essentially out of money. Already, NIH is drawing 
resources from other priorities, like HIV and AIDS and cancer research, 
because this body has failed to act.
  Sometimes my colleagues on the other side like to talk about how we 
must ``protect the unborn.'' Well, let me ask you this: When we fail to 
tackle a disease that causes unborn babies to develop birth defects 
that will haunt them the rest of their lives, how are we protecting the 
unborn?
  These are innocent children--American children in Puerto Rico and on 
the mainland--who are suffering enormously because this Congress has 
not done its job. We are learning that this disease is sexually 
transmitted, making contraception a key part of any solution. But 
Republicans are raising objections to adequate funding for 
contraception.
  Mr. Speaker, protecting the safety and health of the American people 
is a solemn obligation for every Member of Congress. It is a 
responsibility that we are currently not living up to.
  I call on my colleagues to do the right thing. Do your job. Pass a 
supplemental funding bill so the CDC can get to work and help stop this 
terrible virus from spreading.

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