Zika Response Appropriations Act, 2016
Floor Speech
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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 736, I call up the bill (H.R. 5243) making appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, to strengthen public health activities in response to the Zika virus, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. 5243 and that I may include tabular material on the same.
I rise to present H.R. 5243, the Zika Response Appropriations Act.
The Zika virus clearly poses a great threat to public health not only in the United States, but around the globe. It has become increasingly important that we, the Congress, act to protect our most vulnerable, particularly infants and pregnant women, from the risks of this disease. Our response must be urgent, direct, and strategic, targeted at preventing the further spread of this disease.
The bill before you today provides $622.1 million to fight this dangerous virus. It prioritizes critical activities that must begin immediately, such as vaccine development and mosquito control.
I was glad to see that the administration took our committee's advice and redirected $589 million from less urgent needs to fund immediate actions to respond to Zika. This was and is the most immediate source of funding in the fight against Zika.
But given the severity of the crisis, it is clear we must do more. The funds within this legislation will continue the Department of Health and Human Services' and the Department of State's critical efforts to fight the spread of this harmful disease for the rest of the fiscal year of 2016 and beyond. This means that, in total, Congress will have provided over $1.2 billion so far with this bill to respond to Zika in fiscal year 2016.
I am proud that we have provided this funding in a responsible way. The funding in this bill is entirely offset through rescissions of unobligated infectious disease funds that included Ebola or from whatever leftover administrative balances there exists within HHS.
Importantly, Mr. Speaker, this bill takes a thoughtful, strategic approach to how to address the fight against Zika, directing funds where they are needed most urgently and where they can do the most good.
This legislation provides $170 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support mosquito control efforts, disease surveillance, international response, and public education. These funds can also be used for emergency preparedness grants to State, local, and territorial health departments that may confront reductions to their existing budgets.
Within this total, up to $50 million is available for health programs targeted at prenatal care, delivery and postpartum care, newborn health assessments, and care for infants with special needs related to Zika. These funds are focused on States and territories currently experiencing Zika outbreaks.
The National Institutes of Health received $230 million to help expedite the research and development of Zika vaccines, making sure these treatments can be made available to the public quickly and safely.
For the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, BARDA, $103 million will be directed to development and production activities for Zika, including for new rapid diagnostic tests and vaccines. Our response to Zika must also include cutting off the virus at its source, since mosquitos know no boundaries.
For the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, the bill provides a total of $119.1 million, $100 million of this total directed to mosquito control efforts. This also includes funding for public education efforts aimed at reducing mosquito exposure. The remaining $19.1 million is provided to help manage and oversee these programs.
As I noted earlier, we have taken the fiscally responsible step of offsetting every dollar spent in this bill. To go even further and to ensure accountability, transparency, and effective use of tax dollars, we have included strong oversight requirements.
For instance, the Department of Health and Human Services, the State Department, and USAID are required to submit spending plans to Congress before any funds can be spent. And we have directed $2 million total for GAO and Inspector General oversight. The bill also reiterates current, strong protections against the use of any funds for abortions.
The White House's request earlier on made none of these oversight efforts, allowing broad transfer authorities across the entire Federal Government and creating what I call ``slush'' funds with virtually no limits.
This bill guarantees that every cent goes to address the problem at hand: fighting the Zika virus. This funding is critical to stop the spread of Zika and to protect our most vulnerable people, both here at home and abroad. Every child deserves the chance at a full and healthy life, and every mother deserves to see her child survive. This measure will help make this happen for sure in an effective, efficient, and responsible way.
Mr. Speaker, with this bill and its passage, the Congress will have seen to $1.2 billion just over the next 4\1/2\ months, the balance of this fiscal year. The administration request of $1.9 billion was for several years. We, in this bill and the earlier transfer of funds from the Ebola infectious disease fund, see to it that we put money on the problem now, not waiting for further action.
I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5243.
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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. He is also a member of the House Rules Committee.
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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Granger), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Appropriations for State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs.
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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?
This bill specifically mentions Puerto Rico. These moneys go to Puerto Rico, as well as to the rest of the territories and the States. So the money will be there if this bill passes.
Does the gentleman not realize, the request from the National Institutes of Health for vaccine development, we put in $40 million and the money transferred from the so-called Ebola fund; in this bill, there is another $230 million just for vaccine development at NIH. That is every penny that they asked us for. So they are getting actually more. They asked for $270 million, and we are delivering $270 million.
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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, for those who are concerned that this is not an adequate amount of money at the right time, let me just say this. The money that the President requested of us, the $1.9 billion, was for the balance of this year and all of next year--17\1/2\ months, $1.9 billion.
In this bill, plus what we earlier forced them to put into these matters, almost $600 million, that $600 million, this $622 million is just for 4\1/2\ months, from now until the end of the fiscal year. I say that is more than adequate. If there is more needed, when the regular appropriations bills come up for fiscal year 2017, you heard Chairman Cole and Chairman Granger say we will put in the hopper whatever is needed at that time. So this is wholly adequate. It is more than adequate in terms of money.
Now, for those who are concerned about whether or not we are taking too much money away from Ebola, in the first place, that fund is not just for Ebola. When it was created 2 years ago, it was for Ebola and other infectious diseases. That is what we are dealing with here. We are asking the administration to use that money. This is an infectious disease. You have got over $2 billion laying there unused left over from what was not spent in eradicating Ebola.
By the way, the World Health Organization now says that Ebola is no longer an international emergency.
So the money in the so-called Ebola--I call it the infectious disease account--that money is available and needs to be spent now. That is what we told the President shortly after he said he was going to send us a supplemental request. We said to use the money you have.
Finally, they did spend $589 million of that. Now we are adding to that with some $622 million. So there is plenty of money there. There is plenty of money left in the till of the infectious disease account if it is needed for Ebola or anything else. There is upwards of $2 billion laying there unused.
Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of the bill.
I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I reserve a point of order on the gentlewoman's motion.
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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I insist on my point of order.
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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I raise a point of order against the motion because the proposed amendment contains an emergency designation which constitutes a change to existing law within the meaning of clause 2 of rule XXI. Accordingly, it violates the longstanding prohibition on legislating on a general appropriations measure, and I must insist upon my point of order.
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