On the recordMay 17, 2016
as a mother and a grandmother, I know that one of the most frightening questions an expecting parent has to ask their doctor is, ``Is my baby safe?'' Too many parents are asking that question right now because of the Zika virus. There are now more than 1,200 reported cases of Zika in the United States and the three territories--more than 100 of these are pregnant women--and on Friday, Puerto Rico announced its first case of Zika-related microcephaly. Unfortunately, those numbers are only expected to grow in the coming months. So this is an emergency, and public health experts have repeatedly made it clear that as we get closer to the summer and to mosquito season, we cannot afford to delay. We need to better control mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus. We need to raise awareness to make sure families are informed about this disease, and we need to expand access to family planning services and accelerate the development of a vaccine. The President laid out a strong emergency funding proposal to accomplish each of those goals in February. I support that plan. I was very disappointed that instead of acting on it as quickly as possible, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle simply refused to even consider it. Instead, they found reason after reason to delay. First, they said the administration should take funds from the ongoing Ebola response to combat Zika.…
