Zika Virus

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I am on the floor to focus on some very frightening news we got late last week about the Zika virus, news that shows just how important it is that we get emergency funding to the President's desk right away.

Last week, three babies were born in the United States with birth defects linked to Zika. Three other pregnancies didn't make it to term as a result of this virus. As a mother and grandmother, my heart goes out to these families, and as a U.S. Senator, I am extremely frustrated that 4 months since President Obama first asked for a strong emergency funding package to respond to this frightening virus, Congress still has not sent anything to the President's desk because, unfortunately, the longer we wait to act, the more those numbers are going to grow.

In fact, Tom Frieden, Director of the CDC, has said in Puerto Rico alone, hundreds of babies could be born with birth defects related to Zika. There are already nearly 2,200 reported cases of Zika in the United States and the territories, and more than 400 expecting mothers are being monitored for possible infection.

Without question, this is a public health emergency. What makes it all the more frustrating is we have an agreement that could go to the President to be signed into law right away. While it shouldn't have taken so long, Senate Republicans did finally agree to work with us on a downpayment on the President's emergency funding proposal.

The agreement we have reached would give communities more resources for vector control. It would help accelerate development of a vaccine and, critically, provide much needed preventive health care, including family planning services, such as contraception, to families who ask for it.

This package has support from both sides of the aisle. All Senate Democrats and nearly half of Senate Republicans voted for it. It has now been a full month since that agreement passed in the Senate. Unfortunately, instead of acting on it, House Republicans chose to move to conference with their own underfunded, irresponsible proposal that offers just one-third of what is needed to combat this virus and drains much needed resources from the ongoing Ebola response effort.

With the health and well-being of women and babies on the line, now is not the time for nickel-and-diming. It is not the time for debates about taking from one health care priority to support another. This is the time to act because every infection prevented is a potential tragedy prevented, and there is no good reason why we cannot get a strong emergency funding proposal to the President's desk this week.

Families are looking to Congress for action on Zika. It is well past time that we delivered, and I hope we can get this done without any further delay.

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