In February, the World Health Organization declared Zika a public health emergency of international concern, and the President called for $1.9 billion to respond to the impending crisis and prevent the spread in our very own communities.
According to the National Governors Association, "The nation is on the threshold of a public health emergency." In a separate letter, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, National League of Cities, and National Association of County and City Health Officials wrote to "urge Congress to provide emergency supplemental funding for Zika rather than repurpose money from other high priority programs." I ask unanimous consent to submit both letters for the Record.
As summer approaches, CDC confirmed 1,204 cases - including more than 100 pregnant women - in the continental U.S., Puerto Rico, and other U.S. Territories as of May 11. So far, all of the continental U.S. cases are associated with travel, but experts expect the first locally transmitted cases in a matter of weeks. The scientific community has concluded, after careful review, that Zika can cause microcephaly, resulting in miscarriage and other severe fetal brain defects, as well as adult neurological disorders.
When the House Republican Leadership failed to act, the Administration was forced to redirect $589 million, mostly from emergency Ebola balances, to fund immediate efforts to respond to Zika. According to Dr. Fauci at the National Institutes of Health, the redirected funds allowed the U.S. to start work but "we can't finish what we need to do."
The Republican bill does not allow us to finish the job either. It provides only $622 million, less than a third of what is needed.
The administration requested $743 million for State and local efforts to reduce mosquito populations, as well as conduct public health studies of the Zika virus. The House Republican bill provides only $120 million, plus an additional $50 million for block grants. By providing such a small fraction of the requested amount, we would be drastically underfunding State and local public health departments, hampering efforts to expand mosquito control and mitigation - and unnecessarily placing millions of pregnant women at risk. In addition, the Administration requested $246 million in direct assistance for Puerto Rico, an epicenter in the Zika outbreak. The House Republican bill does not provide this direct funding for Puerto Rico - again, placing tens of thousands of pregnant women at risk.
In the past, Congress has come together in a bipartisan manner to address and respond to emergencies, from Ebola and H1N1 viruses to natural disasters, and agreed that these emergencies should not be offset. When a tornado strikes, we don’t steal money from the unfinished relief efforts for the last hurricane.
Yet House Republicans would take more Ebola funding, risking that it could re-emerge, and give less than is needed to stop the spread of Zika in communities throughout the United States. Without full funding to replenish Ebola accounts, we won’t complete commitments to fortify international public health systems or have health contingency funds in place to respond to outbreaks of either disease or any other unanticipated public health crisis.
That is why I introduced H.R. 5044, which would provide the full emergency supplemental to combat Zika and prevent the virus from spreading without risking investments in our public health infrastructure.
Mr. Speaker, that’s the bill we should be debating today, not the House Republican Zika, which is a day late and a dollar short.
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Source: U.S. Department of HCA
