Bill Nelson: “What Senator Rubio and I have is an emergency appropriation of $1.9 billion, although it is not treated that way in this…”

“What Senator Rubio and I have is an emergency appropriation of $1.9 billion, although it is not treated that way in this appropriations bill. The Centers for Disease Control predicts that up to 25 percent of our fellow American citizens on the island of Puerto Rico are going to be infected by the end of the year; that is, 800,000 people just there. Already in the United States, we have over 1,000 cases reported in 45 States; 113 of those 1,000 are in Florida. Most of them are in South Florida, Miami-Dade County. Yesterday we just had another case that brought that total to 113. Those 113 cases are spread all over the State of Florida. The community leaders, as indicated by this letter from Osceola County, are saying they are out of funds. Help. This is an emergency. With four reported cases of the virus so far just in that county, which is near Orlando, they have determined they will need to triple their annual budget for mosquito control. The county manager writes: This public health emergency has placed Osceola County under significant financial pressure. County resources are exhausted, and funds are not readily available to respond to this disaster. Lives are at stake. Think about what the House has done--a $600 million Zika bill. That is nowhere what we need. Such a figure is not only absurd, it is an insult to the men and women who are on the frontlines trying to battle this virus. These are local governments, such as the one I mentioned in Osceola County.…”