Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I want to start by thanking Senator Heitkamp for pulling us in here today to talk about this emergency and Senator Murray for her strong voice on this and many others who will be speaking out today.

In 2014 Ebola broke out in West Africa. As it advanced, the international community came together to combat the outbreak. Doctors from around the world traveled to West Africa to set up emergency hospital units to help the sick and to attempt to contain the virus. President Obama deployed thousands of troops to support the effort.

With the media focused on the outbreak right in the middle of the 2014 election, Republican Senators and Republican candidates across the country seized on this global health crisis. No, they didn't swoop in to rescue; in fact, Republicans did nothing to support the actual Ebola response before the elections. Instead, they terrified the American people with totally made-up stories of Ebola-infected immigrants coming across our southern border. They loudly trumpeted a number of dangerous and irresponsible solutions, such as travel bans that would actually make dealing with the problem more difficult.

Ebola ravaged West Africa, but only four cases were ever diagnosed here in the United States. Republican politicians didn't care--they had found something to blame on President Obama and the Democrats, and they were happy to do it. They exploited the situation to help win an election. And it worked. Not all of the fearmongering candidates won, but most of them did, and they won in part because they promised to protect the American people from these horrible contagious diseases.

Today, Republicans run the Senate, and we face a terrible threat right here in America--the rapidly spreading Zika virus. So I come to the floor to ask a simple question: Why haven't Republicans lifted a single finger to stop it?

Unlike Ebola, Zika is not confined to one small region of the world; it has already spread through most of South America and through Mexico. Unlike Ebola, which can be transmitted only by direct contact with bodily fluids, Zika can spread rapidly across distances by transmission through mosquitoes. Unlike Ebola, our leaders at the NIH and CDC are raising the alarm that Zika is an imminent threat to Americans. Nearly 900 cases of Zika have already been reported on American soil.

Zika can be devastating. Most people who contract Zika show no symptoms or only very mild symptoms, but Zika infections can trigger Guillain-Barre syndrome, a condition in which the body attacks its own nervous system, which can cause permanent and severe damage, hospitalizing some people for weeks and killing others. In addition, babies born to mothers who were infected with Zika may suffer severe and permanent brain damage. The World Health Organization estimates that 4 million people could be infected with Zika by the end of the year.

The threat is real, but where are the Republicans? For weeks Senate Democrats have called for emergency supplemental funding to support public health efforts both in research and prevention. Republicans have done nothing. For weeks the President has called for emergency supplemental funding to protect the American people. Republicans have done nothing. For weeks leaders at the WHO, NIH, and CDC have begged Congress for resources to fight this disease. Republicans have done nothing. The President has been forced to divert funds intended for work on Ebola over to work on Zika. That is a very short-term strategy. Ebola has dropped out of the news, but the threat has not ended. We need funding for work on both, but still the Republicans have done nothing.

Now Senate Republicans are taking us on a week-long recess. Where is the Republican plan to fund the Zika response? Where is the Republican plan to replenish the Ebola funds? Apparently, when there is no immediate political benefit, the Republicans can't be bothered to act. Forget Ebola. Forget Zika. They want to go on vacation.

Well, I have news for my Republican colleagues: That is not good enough. They won the election by telling Americans they would protect them from scenarios just like this. Republicans run the Senate now, so it is time to govern. There is a public health crisis bearing down on this country. Babies will be born permanently disabled, and families will be devastated if Republicans keep blocking funding to deal with this problem. It is up to you to act.

This is what government is for--to help protect the people of the United States from serious threats, from real threats. The Republicans are failing the people of the United States.

Thank you.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source