DeLauro Calls on Republicans to Act on the Zika Virus Before It Is Too Late
WASHINGTON, DC (April 27, 2016) — Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today joined House and Senate Democrats to discuss the urgent need to pass the Administration's $1.9 billion emergency supplemental request to address the Zika virus. DeLauro delivered the following remarks at the press conference.
Here are the remarks, as prepared for delivery:
Good afternoon. As of last week, there were 891 confirmed cases of the Zika virus in the United States and its territories—and 81 of them are pregnant women.
This virus is already a large scale crisis in Puerto Rico where there are 476 confirmed cases on the island alone. Florida and our Gulf Coast states are next. Temperatures in the U.S. are already reaching levels where mosquitos thrive. We are less than 100 days out from the Olympics in Brazil. We should have acted long ago. This is a true emergency. We can invest in stopping the Zika virus, or we can let more people in this country become infected and suffer.
Recently, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said "we have to act now. If the regular appropriations process takes too long, I don't want to have to wait to develop a vaccine." There are companies interested in developing a vaccine now, but they need to know that there will be federal support—they need multi-year commitments to fight this virus, and we need the emergency funding for the development of faster and more accurate diagnostic tests. We do not have it yet.
According to CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden, "There is no longer any doubt that Zika causes microcephaly. Never before in history has there been a situation where a mosquito bite can result in a devastating malformation." There is no ambiguity. Zika causes debilitating brain damage. While we dawdle, children will suffer and die.
Some physicians are advising women to not get pregnant—arguing that avoiding conception is the only sure way to avoid the birth of deformed babies. Is this the message we want to send to American women?
We cannot afford to wait another day to approve the President's request. Due to the majority's refusal to consider the emergency request, the Administration has been forced to redirect $510 million from Ebola to the immediate Zika response—we are robbing Peter to pay Paul. Let me be clear: these funds are being directed away from other critical and threatening global health risks and are being repurposed only as a last resort – not because it is the right thing to do from a policy perspective.
The Washington Post reported that cities and states across the country are being robbed of emergency preparedness grants—44 million in total. Not only will these states have fewer resources to address public health crises, they will have fewer resources to address the Zika virus itself.
Texas is losing $3.6 million, more than 9% of its funding. Los Angeles County is losing $1.6 million, and New York City will lose more than $1 million. It is mind boggling that we would even consider this course of action.
It is unconscionable that in the midst of a global health crisis, we cannot appropriate emergency funds to save lives. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle not put American women in the predicament of choosing whether or not they should get pregnant—or if they are already pregnant, wondering whether or not their baby is okay.
Months from now, when the results of our inaction become apparent, we will ask ourselves, "Why did we delay? Why did we wait?" We can stop this crisis before it gets worse, but we have to act now. It is the responsible and moral thing to do. Thank you.
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