Political Quotes

“Mr. President, what we do next on Zika is not an ideological test; it is a test of our basic competence. It has nothing to do with one's views on the size and scope of the Federal Government because, after all, if you believe the government should do even just a few things, preventing a catastrophic epidemic has to be one of them. Zika is a public health emergency, and we have to act now to fund $1.9 billion in supplemental funding to address it, as requested by the public health experts. I congratulate Senators Nelson, Rubio, Blunt, and Murray for working across the aisle to reach these agreements, and I would especially like to offer my support for the Nelson-Rubio $1.9 billion compromise. The Nelson-Rubio amendment provides the full $1.9 billion in Zika funding through the following: approximately $743 million for the CDC, $277 million for NIH, $335 million for USAID, and $417 million for the State Department. And here is an important aspect of it: It also pays back the borrowed Ebola money that we need to ensure that countries stay prepared to prevent another Ebola crisis. There are a few proposals to pay for this, but I want to make the following point: This is an emergency. It fits the definition precisely, and so it shouldn't require a so-called pay-for. I would like to say something to the Members who have rediscovered their fiscal conservatism.…”