DeLauro Announces $320,564 Grant for Connecticut Zika Response

WASHINGTON, DC (July 1, 2016) — Today, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03)announced that the State of Connecticut is receiving a $320,564 federal grant to support the state's Zika response effort.

The grant, provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will be used to identify and track Zika outbreaks, coordinate the state response effort, and connect individuals and families impacted by Zika with the services they need. DeLauro has repeatedly called on Congress to fully fund the Administration's $1.9 billion request to address the Zika virus. Earlier this year, the CDC was forced to transfer $44 million from state and local preparedness grants to fund the national Zika response.

"While it is good news that the State of Connecticut is receiving $320,564 to support the preparedness and response effort, this funding will not make up the lost preparedness funding due to Congressional inaction on the Administration's emergency Zika response.

"When Congress returns to Washington on Tuesday, we must immediately fund the Administration's request to respond to the threat posed by the Zika virus. This is a national public health emergency, with nearly 3,000 cases in the U.S. States and Territories, including over 500 in pregnant women. In the U.S., we have already had 7 infants born with Zika associated defects. Congress must act and provide our health professionals with the resources they need to support prevention and response effort.

"When we talk about appropriating for defense, Republicans often say: ‘Listen to the generals in the field. They are the ones who know best.' Well, we have generals in the field on this issue of Zika. They are the CDC and the NIH. They are begging for more resources to combat the Zika virus. Congress needs to give them the resources that they need. It is the responsible and moral thing to do."

DeLauro is the senior Democrat on the subcommittee responsible for funding the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.

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