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

Floor Speech

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Mr. THUNE. And I will follow, correct?

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Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, in a few short moments Senate Democrats will have a decision to make. Will they side with American families and expectant mothers dealing with the Zika virus or will they side with their far left political allies? According to media reports, unfortunately, that outcome is increasingly clear. Senate Democrats will once again side with their political allies rather than working with Republicans on a solution to keep women safe from the Zika virus.

Mr. President, Democrats have apparently decided to engage in their favorite game of late--refusing to take yes for an answer. It happened last week with terrorism. Democrats urged us to pass legislation to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists, but when Senator Cornyn offered an amendment to do just that, Democrats opposed it almost unanimously. This week it is Zika funding.

Six weeks ago, Democrats and Republicans from the relevant committees in the Senate got together and agreed on a bill to provide $1.1 billion to fight Zika. That bill then came to the floor, and every Democrat voted for it on the floor of the Senate--every single Democrat.

Last week, House and Senate negotiators reconciled the House and Senate bills and agreed on Zika funding in the amount of $1.1 billion-- in other words, the exact same amount that Senate Democrats unanimously supported 6 weeks ago. But now Democrats don't want to support it. Their reason is that the small grant program in this bill, most of which is intended for Puerto Rico, will not provide for more Federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

This bill provides expanded funding for community health centers, public health departments, and hospitals. It actually funds more avenues for access to women's health care than what the President requested. The bill funds research into a Zika vaccine. It funds research into Zika treatments. It streamlines mosquito control efforts, since the best way to protect men, women, and babies from contracting the Zika virus is to make sure they do not get bitten by a mosquito in the first place.

The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention--the lead government agency for fighting diseases--has said that the Republican bill will take care of immediate Zika funding needs. Yet Democrats are holding up this bill because it will not fund a handful of Planned Parenthood clinics in Puerto Rico.

Seriously, Mr. President? Seriously? That is what this is about? Democrats like to position themselves as having the moral high ground. Again and again Democrats suggested that they were fiercely committed to fighting Zika while Republicans were dragging their feet on a public health crisis.

Well, here is what I see today. I see Republicans ready to pass a Zika bill and send it to the President this minute, right now. And I see Democrats who are more interested in pacifying a Democrat special interest group than they are in actually doing anything about Zika. Purely and simply, that is what this is--a Democratic special interest group that snapped its fingers, and the Democrats have all come running.

Forget all that urgency about getting Zika funding passed. Forget the scientists who are waiting for vaccine funding. And forget about mosquito control efforts. Apparently, none of that matters anymore. Republicans are ready to pass Zika funding, the same amount--I will repeat: the same amount--of funding Democrats already voted for unanimously in the Senate. We are ready to pass it right now, this minute, and send it to the President. We are just waiting for Democrats to agree.

Mr. President, I hope they will not keep the American people waiting.

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