Political Quotes

“Today I intended to offer an amendment to fund the fight against mosquito borne illnesses such as the West Nile virus. However, due to the agreement for limited debate on the Labor-HHS Appropriations legislation I was not able to offer the amendment. I would like to express to my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee the importance of addressing this issue in conference. I commend the CDC for the work that they have done on educating our constituencies on prevention and for the support they have given for surveillance. Unfortunately, the CDC and many others were taken by surprise by the aggressive nature of the virus. And although the House appropriators have seen fit to increase CDC funding for the West Nile virus it is simply not enough. Counties across this country need help with controlling mosquito outbreaks. Education and surveillance alone is not going to put an end to the spread of this virus. This is a major public health threat, and Congress has recognized this by passing the Mosquito Abatement Safety and Health Act. H.R. 342 would provide financial assistance to localities as they attempt to battle the spread of such an aggressive virus. Both the House and Senate have recognized the importance of this legislation by passing my bill, and I am anxiously awaiting final negotiations on the bill so that it can be sent to the President for his signature. But an authorization is not enough, as we all know.…”