On the recordJuly 12, 2016
The gentleman from Texas is correct. Effectively, rather than actually find resources to develop a vaccine against Zika, they basically said, we are going to be taking the money from Ebola, which, by the way, still exists, still is a threat. We need to be ready for the next threat of an Ebola or Ebola-like danger to our citizens from a public health perspective. In addition, the initial Republican attempts included things that they long wanted to do, like remove dangerous insecticides from the list of insecticides that are prohibited, due to their harm to human health as well as ecosystems and animal health. The solution is straightforward. We need to develop a vaccine. We need to increase our public health infrastructure around this menace, and the bill fell short on that account because, effectively, it said, we might be able to not deal with Ebola and deal with this instead. The truth is, the American people want a public health infrastructure that keeps them safe from Ebola and Zika and every other potential biological threat that is out there. The American people want to be safe. It is a dynamic world with increased travel, increased commerce. There are biological threats from all quarters, and we need the public health infrastructure to keep up with that.
