Zika Virus Funding

Floor Speech

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Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, first of all, as to the news that has already been reported today, there is a broader issue about funding the government that remains in play with some issues, and there has been back and forth about that which will continue. I want to specifically talk about one of the provisions involved in this; that is, the funding for Zika. My colleagues know I have been discussing this issue for quite some time over the last few months as it has spread.

Let's start with the United States. Across the U.S. territory, there are now close to 20,000 cases of Zika. There are over 3,300 infections in the mainland of the United States; 867 of them are in Florida and 90 were transmitted locally, meaning it happened in the State. There are 89 infections in Florida involving pregnant women. There are 85 infections now among U.S. servicemembers, two of whom are pregnant. There are 21 dependents of U.S. servicemembers infected with Zika, and one of them is pregnant. This is an issue that continues to grow in urgency, and it has taken far too long for Congress to act. As I have said repeatedly, both parties are to blame that we are at this point.

What I am more optimistic about is the fact that we have reached a bipartisan agreement to fund the Federal Government's response to this virus, and it is a $1.1 billion package. There is $15 million specifically targeted for States with local transmissions, and so far Florida is the only State that has local transmissions. It also includes $16 million specifically for territories like the Island of Puerto Rico, which has had the highest number of affected American citizens, and that is by far. It is not even close.

So next week when we come back, we are expected to vote on these anti-Zika resources, and it is going to be part of the larger bill to fund the Federal Government beyond September 30. I know that some of those other issues have yet to be worked out. There will be some extensive debate about some of the issues remaining, but this provision is an important part of this, and it has to be a part of the final package as we send it over to the House.

I will begin by laying this out today in the hopes that not just my colleagues in the Senate will support the funding mechanism for Zika but also to begin to speak to some of our House colleagues about how important it is that we get the anti-Zika funding passed. Passing this funding will enable this money to begin to flow to help those who are being hurt by the virus but also so that medical researchers can focus on developing a vaccine without having to worry about their resources drying up.

I think this package that has been put together in a bipartisan way rightfully prioritizes funding for Americans in Puerto Rico and Florida, and I am encouraged that our repeated calls for action on their behalf are beginning to be answered. I think that as we go through some of the details of it here, as some of it becomes public and as we go through some of the issues, I know people are going to care about it.

This anti-Zika funding provides $1.1 billion. By the way, the Senate already passed the $1.1 billion provision--I believe back in May--so the Senate has already acted on this once. This is kind of revisiting this issue, but it is important. We are going to have to lead the way on how this is structured.

Among the provisions, there is almost $400 million for mosquito control and surveillance. That is money which will go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and to do things like support vector controls, technical assistance for States, as well as international response activities. Of this amount, by the way, $44 million is to reimburse States for public health emergency preparedness funding that was transferred for Zika response activities.

There is about $400 million for vaccine and diagnostic development through the National Institutes of Health and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. This is strictly related to research for Zika, vaccine development, and the commercialization of diagnostic tests. It is hard to get a test for Zika now. A couple of weeks ago, someone whom I know well could not find a place to do the test because there is not a commercially available one that is widely available.

It provides about $75 million to reimburse health care providers in States and U.S. territories that have active Zika transmission, for those without private health insurance. That includes $40 million for community health centers in Puerto Rico and U.S. territories, $6 million for the National Health Services Corps in Puerto Rico, and $20 million for maternal and child health special projects of regional and national significance in Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories.

It requires a spending plan of not later than 30 days after this act is passed, so it has oversight, and it provides about $1 million for oversight activities just to make sure the money is being appropriately targeted.

This funding also includes about $175 million to support response efforts related to the Zika virus--for example, our diplomatic and consular programs; $14 million to address the Zika virus abroad, including our own personnel. For emergencies in the Diplomatic and Consular Service, we include about $4 million to support potential costs of evacuating U.S. citizens from Zika-affected countries.

There is $1 million to enable financing of $1.9 million in repatriation loans to U.S. citizens who are seeking to leave a Zika- affected area outside of the United States or who have been exposed to or contracted Zika.

As part of the global health programs, there is another $145 million to support the ability of infected countries to implement vector management and control programs to reduce the transmission of the virus. This is important because a lot of the cases we are seeing are coming from other countries. The virus has taken off in places like Brazil and other places, and when we have U.S. visitors to those places, ultimately what we are finding is that some people infected by Zika abroad are trying to come into the United States, even if they come in potentially on a tourist visa or what have you.

There is a lot, as I said, that is complex. There are a lot of funds available. The good news is that it is being targeted in the right direction. The good news for Florida is that as the only State so far that has had a global transmission of Zika, we have included $15 million, which I think will be incredibly helpful for Florida.

So I urge my colleagues--we have all come at this from a different perspective. There were a lot of other issues in play and a lot of political rhetoric surrounding this, but I think we have reached the point where, at least when it comes to Zika, we can rally around the proposal that is before us. It is as good as we are going to get given the time constraints we face, and we have waited far too long. We cannot leave here on September 30, next week, without moving something forward, and I think this gives us the best chance to get it done.

I urge my colleagues to support it as we go into the new week, and I urge the House Members to look at this and rally around it. We have to take action on this once and for all. This gives us the best chance of success.

I am cautiously optimistic that we are going to be able to get this done over here. I say ``cautiously'' because I want people at home to understand that this provision for Zika is part of a much bigger product that involves funding the Federal Government, and there are all sorts of other issues that are still being debated.

As we heard the minority leader and others who have already spoken today--I read it in the press--they are not big fans of the proposal that is on the table. There are broader issues at play that could potentially derail Zika, issues that have nothing to do with Zika funding. There are other issues being debated that could derail funding for Zika that have nothing to do with Zika but involve some of these other issues associated with the funding of the government.

This is important enough for us to move forward. I don't think anyone wants to see a government shutdown, of course, but beyond that, I think we have to get moving on this funding. We have heard loud and clear that this has taken far too long.

Let me say that if this money doesn't start flowing--because I have been really hard on the administration about spending the money that is already available to them, but now I can tell you that money is slowly dwindling. Here is the fact: If we don't get something done over the next few days, the research on the vaccines and other things are going to stop and come to a grinding halt.

If we want to save money on Zika, if we want to save money on this issue once and for all, develop a vaccine. That is what needs to happen. That can't happen if the funding is being threatened or if the funding is not something they can count on to move forward. Also, these local governments and municipalities and the State of Florida have already expended significant amounts of money to deal with this issue, including the mosquito control efforts. So that is important.

These cases are going to happen whether we fund it or not. That is why I wanted us to do this in April and in May and June and in July. It took too long. Here is where we are now. Better late than never. Let's get this done as soon as possible so that we can give assurance to our people back home that the Federal Government has stepped up and their elected representatives have done their job to deal with this issue once and for all.

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