Political Quotes

“The Republican Zika bill provides $622 million, about one-third of the $1.9 billion requested. The bill also steals more Ebola funding as an offset instead of replenishing what was already redirected to Zika. We don't offset spending to respond to emergencies, and we certainly don't steal from prior emergency response efforts still underway when a new emergency arises. Let's just consider, my friends, recent history. Emergency funding was provided to respond to both Ebola and H1N1. In last year's omnibus, Congress used emergency funding without offsets to pay for wildland fire suppression, mostly in the West. Congress also provided emergency funding to respond to two hurricanes and flooding in the Carolinas and Texas, again without offsets. When those disasters struck, we didn't steal money from prior disaster response, like the emergency funding provided for hurricane damage in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida; or storms in West Virginia; or tornadoes in Oklahoma and Kentucky. In fact, after the 2013 Oklahoma tornadoes, my friend, Chairman Rogers, said: ``I don't think disasters of this type should be offset. We have an obligation to help these people.'' Now that the Zika public health emergency has ravaged Brazil, spread to Puerto Rico, and threatens an outbreak in the continental United States, suddenly Republicans insist on shortchanging efforts to ensure the deadly Ebola virus doesn't reemerge to pay for Zika response.…”