Kathy Castor: “And Members, this is the final amendment to the bill. It will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. We don't…”

“And Members, this is the final amendment to the bill. It will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. We don't have time for that. If it is adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. Mr. Speaker, America has a public health emergency at its doorstep, and it requires a robust and urgent response. Yet the Republican bill utterly fails to deal with the emergency posed by the rapidly spreading Zika virus, and it leaves our neighbors and our communities at risk. So the amendment I am offering today provides the resources requested by our public health experts and researchers to combat Zika, the $1.9 billion to help prevent, detect, and respond to Zika in contrast to the paltry $622 million in the Republican bill. I would like to thank Mrs. Lowey, Ms. DeLauro, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. Graham, Mr. Ruiz, and everyone. I would like to thank the March of Dimes, which is advocating for full funding, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Why? Microcephaly. Microcephaly is a severe brain abnormality that is now linked to the Zika virus, as are other anomalies where brain and skull development are affected. We are talking about a lifetime of seizures and developmental delays, such as problems sitting, standing, walking, seeing, hearing, and feeding problems. Currently, there is no vaccine or treatment for the Zika infection.…”