Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016--Conference Report

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I want to start by saying how disappointed I was by the comments I heard from Republican leaders last night on Zika. It seems that after months and months of their delaying, after they rejected our bipartisan plan, kicked Democrats out of the negotiating room, and passed a partisan bill in the middle of the night, Republicans are now scrambling to blame anyone but themselves for their own inaction on Zika. It is absurd, it is irresponsible, and people across the country are not going to buy it.

Republicans control Congress. They blocked action for months and months. They fought us at every step, and now that they finally realized that the American people aren't going to stand for inaction, they are desperately searching for excuses instead of honestly looking for solutions. But women and families aren't looking for Republicans to point fingers; they are looking for a serious response to Zika.

We all know very well that Democrats and Republicans don't always see eye to eye, but one thing we should be able to agree on is that when there is a serious, national, and global public health threat, we should put our differences aside and work together to protect women, families, and communities. Unfortunately, when it comes to the Zika virus, Republicans are now doing the exact opposite.

It has been 4 months since President Obama first put forward a strong emergency funding proposal. Even though we are in the midst of mosquito season, the House Republicans chose last week to double down on a partisan, pandering bill when it comes to this frightening virus. Instead of working with Democrats on a serious response to Zika, they voted to end the conference, pass an extremely partisan report in the middle of the night, and leave town.

There is a lot to be concerned about in this legislation, but, critically, this proposal would impose politically motivated restrictions that limit women's access to contraception and health care with providers they rely on. It should go without saying, but in the midst of a public health emergency that impacts women and families, the last thing Republicans should be doing is playing politics with women's health and making it harder for them to get care when and where they need it. It is truly frustrating, especially since just weeks ago, Senate Democrats and Republicans agreed on a bipartisan downpayment on the President's proposal, and that bipartisan legislation could have already passed the House and Senate, could have been signed into law by the President, and started helping women and families in need by now.

Today, ahead of the Senate's vote on this partisan political proposal that came out of the House in the middle of the night last week, we have a clear message for Republicans: Enough is enough--enough with the partisanship, enough with the poison pills, and enough with using women's health to pander to the tea party. We have a narrow window to get an effective response to this virus under way, and every infection that we prevent now is a potential tragedy averted for a family in the communities we serve.

Democrats are ready to work together, just as we have been for months. I urge Republicans to come back to the negotiating table and work with us on a real response to a truly serious public health threat. Women and families are expecting us to act and have already waited long enough.

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