Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, shortly the Senate will vote on three different versions of appropriations bills that will provide the needed money to help combat the anticipated challenges we are going to have with the Zika virus, which we have talked a lot about. Obviously, Zika is a threat, particularly to women of childbearing age because of the horrific birth defects associated with it, most prominently microcephaly, or basically a skull that is smaller than normal, leading to premature death and, obviously, horrific injuries.

There is bipartisan support for this legislation.

First of all, we will have a chance to vote on the President's request of $1.9 billion. The biggest objection I have to that $1.9 billion is that it really doesn't come with a plan that says how the President will spend that money. It also is not paid for. As the Presiding Officer well knows, we have a huge national debt, and there is no reason to just gratuitously rack up more debt in order to deal with this public health concern.

There is a second vote we will have on a $1.1 billion appropriations bill. This is the product of the good work done by Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri and Senator Patty Murray of Washington. They have cut down the President's request from $1.9 billion to $1.1 billion, and they believe this will fund the needed work not only of this fiscal year but into the next fiscal year as well. That is also not offset or paid for, and I think that is a problem.

First of all, the House has proposed a roughly $600 million bill that is fully offset, so we are going to have some differences between the House and the Senate over how we address the Zika virus challenge.

The third is a piece of legislation I have offered that I would certainly ask my colleagues to support. This is fully offset out of something called the Prevention and Public Health Fund that was created by the Affordable Care Act. So there is money in the Treasury now that could help pay for the $1.1 billion. I should say that about $900 million of it could be paid for now, and by next year there will be more money put into this Prevention and Public Health Fund.

As we can see, the Affordable Care Act provides that. This Prevention and Public Health Fund is ``to provide for expanded and sustained national investment in prevention and public health programs.'' I can't imagine any more urgent public health program or one that we should be looking to prevent more than this particular threat, the Zika virus.

I would point out that the Prevention and Public Health Fund has been used to fund some things--many good things, some which I think are questionable, like promoting free pet neutering, encouraging urban gardening, and boosting bicycle clubs. Certainly, prevention of these horrific birth defects and the threat of the Zika virus spreading through the continental United States and its impact on our population is more important than these.

So I ask my colleagues, please, let's deal with this threat in the responsible way that we all agree we should, but let's do so in a fiscally responsible way as well. There is no reason to gratuitously add to the deficit and the debt. We can do this in a responsible way from a public health standpoint and fiscally as well.

Mr. President, I know the Senator from New York, Mr. Schumer, is coming to the floor at noon, and we are going to present a matter for the Senate's consideration. I don't see him here yet, but I am told he is on his way. So let me turn to that topic, and I know Senator Schumer will be here momentarily.

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