Political Quotes

“first of all, as to the news that has already been reported today, there is a broader issue about funding the government that remains in play with some issues, and there has been back and forth about that which will continue. I want to specifically talk about one of the provisions involved in this; that is, the funding for Zika. My colleagues know I have been discussing this issue for quite some time over the last few months as it has spread. Let's start with the United States. Across the U.S. territory, there are now close to 20,000 cases of Zika. There are over 3,300 infections in the mainland of the United States; 867 of them are in Florida and 90 were transmitted locally, meaning it happened in the State. There are 89 infections in Florida involving pregnant women. There are 85 infections now among U.S. servicemembers, two of whom are pregnant. There are 21 dependents of U.S. servicemembers infected with Zika, and one of them is pregnant. This is an issue that continues to grow in urgency, and it has taken far too long for Congress to act. As I have said repeatedly, both parties are to blame that we are at this point. What I am more optimistic about is the fact that we have reached a bipartisan agreement to fund the Federal Government's response to this virus, and it is a $1.1 billion package. There is $15 million specifically targeted for States with local transmissions, and so far Florida is the only State that has local transmissions.…”