OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Zika Response Appropriations Act, 2016

Floor Speech

Date: May 18, 2016
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Health and Health Care

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Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I agree with the gentlewoman from Texas. We should be thankful for the scientists we have, whether it is at the CDC, whether it is at the NIH, those public health officials who are going to make sure that the mosquito control occurs that is necessary, to those who are at BARDA and other agencies where we develop the vaccines that are necessary, and do the necessary research.

This House bill, in distinction to the President's request, is targeted and well thought out. This bill deals just with Zika. The President's request didn't. It dealt with whatever other infectious disease comes down the road. Yet, Zika is what is in front of us now.

Mr. Speaker, it is going to take 2 to 3 years to complete the necessary research and to complete the vaccine development and bring it to market.

This bill deals with the needs over the next 6 months. The administration requested a total of about $1.6 billion in research, because there is about $300 million that has nothing to do, really, with researching and curing Zika. So it is $1.6 billion over 3 years.

The House took the position we actually need to front-load that. We need to deal with this fiscal year, so we put together a package of $1.2 billion to be spent over the next 6 months to make sure that we start the necessary research, we start the vaccine development, and deal with those outyears through the normal appropriations process which is going to take place over the next 2 years.

So our approach is actually a much more valid approach, targeted, well thought out, will provide all the necessary funds to the CDC, NIH, for the vaccine development and the mosquito control over the next 6 months, when we need it most, and then add additional funds as necessary, as science learns more about what we need.

We can't possibly know what we need now. The administration put a request without possibly knowing what we need 2 or 3 years in the future. We will find out what we need and we will add those.

Mr. Speaker, this is the right approach. This is actually more money up front than the administration has asked for, which is exactly the correct approach to deal with this imminent threat to the health of U.S. citizens here and in Puerto Rico.

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