Political Quotes

“Madam President, we will soon vote on a bill that would provide funding for a coordinated response to the Zika virus--a virus that has already ravaged many parts of Latin America and places like Puerto Rico. Over the past few weeks, our Democratic friends have repeatedly stressed the urgency of this matter. And the summer months coming are likely to bring us more mosquitoes, which, of course, are the primary vector that carries this virus. Thankfully, in the United States, no one who has contracted the Zika virus has done so through a mosquito; it has been from people traveling to Central and South America, who have been bitten there--at least that is according to most current statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We know they are coming, and we need to act with dispatch. I know many of our friends across the aisle were very eager to get this done because they came down and made unanimous consent requests for $1.9 billion. As you will recall, the Senate passed an appropriation for $1.1 billion, and the only difference between the House and Senate was whether this would be deficit spending or whether it would actually be offset or paid for, which was the House's position. I think the House had the better argument. If we could pay for it, that would be ideal, but I think everybody agrees we need to get moving quickly to protect our communities. Of course, the people most vulnerable to the Zika virus are women of childbearing age.…”