Sheila Jackson Lee: “Tomorrow there will be a bright and shiny Sun, but in this Chamber it will be nothing but darkness--nothing but…”

“Tomorrow there will be a bright and shiny Sun, but in this Chamber it will be nothing but darkness--nothing but darkness, with no sound, no response from my friends on the other side of the aisle. From 2005 to 2015, 300,000 people have died from senseless gun violence. The people of Flint are crying out for relief from poisoned lead water. And then there is the Zika virus impacting the Gulf region. As of July 6, 1,132 travel-associated cases of the Zika virus; 2,534 cases in U.S. territories; and, of course, the Gulf region is a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Pregnant women with laboratory evidence of Zika, now some 320, including the United States and the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories is 279. And, yes, a baby has now been born with microcephaly in Harris County in Texas. And our Gulf region Zika task force has said thousands more may come. Give us the Senate bill, $1.9 billion. Our people are suffering. Don't turn off the lights. Let's work. They are crying out for relief. ____________________”