Zika Response Appropriations Act, 2016
Floor Speech
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Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I want to first thank Chairman Rogers for his leadership on ensuring that the United States is able to do everything necessary to combat Zika, and do so immediately.
South Florida is ground zero in the United States for this disease. So the funding that this bill provides is, frankly, critically important to Florida, especially, as we know, because mosquitos are most active during the summer months. This horrible disease has the capability to infect many, and we must focus on stopping it before it continues to spread.
So I believe, Mr. Speaker, that we need to provide every dollar needed for Zika prevention, treatment, and response programs and, I would repeat, not one penny less.
This bill is the second part of a three-pronged effort to combat this disease. First was the almost $600 million in repurposed Ebola funds. Now we are providing an additional $622 million for, again, a total of over $1.2 billion to deal with this disease.
So let's be clear: if more funds are needed, Congress will step up and do what is necessary to make sure that, if those funds were necessary sometime in the future, they would be available.
It is also crucial, Mr. Speaker, that President Obama's administration and the Centers for Disease Control provide Congress with detailed information as to how they plan to spend these proposed funds.
Congress also has a responsibility to protect American taxpayers so that their hard-earned dollars are spent efficiently and effectively, much unlike, Mr. Speaker, the fiasco with those so-called ``shovel- ready'' programs. Let's make sure that we do not repeat that embarrassing fiasco and waste of taxpayers' money.
So I urge my colleagues to vote for this bill, as it does provide the funds necessary to fight Zika immediately--immediately, Mr. Speaker-- again, while also making sure that we protect the hard-earned American people's tax dollars.
I once again want to thank the chairman for doing this so quickly, so efficiently, because Florida is ground zero.
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