|
Post by bot on Sept 4, 2016 16:44:40 GMT -5
Hoyer: Announcement that Funds to Address Zika Crisis Running Out Ought to Provoke Congress to Act
WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today after it was announced that federal funds to fight the Zika virus will run out by the end of September unless Congress passes emergency funding:
“The announcement today by Director Frieden of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that funds available to address the Zika crisis will run out by the end of next month ought to provoke Congress to act. So far, this Republican-led House has repeatedly refused to bring a bipartisan, compromise Zika funding bill to the Floor. Instead, they have used this crisis to further their partisan agenda, attaching poison-pill amendments to Zika legislation in order to rally their base when they ought to have been putting country first and working across the aisle and with the Senate to combat this dangerous public health challenge.
“More than 11,500 of our fellow Americans have now contracted Zika, and nearly 1,400 pregnant women risk giving birth to children with Zika-related defects. Congress must not delay further, and when the House comes back into session next week it will be incumbent upon the Speaker and Majority Leader to bring Zika funding legislation to the Floor that can be signed into law. I visited Miami earlier this month and met with families fearful of what might happen if Zika is allowed to spread further. We must not let them down – Congress has a responsibility to act, and House Democrats will continue pushing for action.”
|
|