WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor highlighting how Congress should best respond to the Zika virus.
Transcript of Senator Barrasso’s remarks:
“I come to the floor today to talk about the threat that the Zika virus poses, a threat to the health of Americans, and to people around the world.
“Every day we learn more about this virus.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed a link between Zika and microcephaly.
“That’s a condition where babies are born with smaller heads – and with brain defects. It’s a devastating problem that we are all facing.
“Studies have linked Zika to something called Guillain-Barre syndrome, something I studied in medical school, something I’ve seen in patients. It can lead to paralysis. It’s a serious condition.
“Last week, the CDC also confirmed the first Zika-related death in Puerto Rico.
“Because this virus is mostly spread by mosquitoes, the potential risk is going to only become more urgent as the weather turns warmer.
“So, we must do what we can now, today – before this turns into a true epidemic from the threat that it is today.
America’s drug companies and researchers need to continue working on treatments, on tests and on vaccines.
“Our cities, our towns need to start taking aggressive measures for controlling mosquitos.
“Doctors can help to educate people who are at risk of contracting this disease, this virus, but we need all hands on deck.
“Washington has a part to play as well – and Republicans in the Senate are ready to address this issue.
“Congress has already passed legislation that adds Zika to what’s called the ‘priority review voucher program.’
“This program awards financial incentives to the sponsor of a new drug that’s approved to prevent or treat a tropical disease.
“That’s a good way that Congress can help to speed up the research process in dealing with Zika.
“Now, Congress has also approved the transfer of nearly $600 million in existing, unobligated funds for an immediate Zika response.
“So, the money has already been moved to help.”
“We can also make a big difference by cutting through red tape, and there is significant red tape in this city that actually makes it harder to kill the mosquitoes that carry this virus.
“You would think you would want to make it easier to kill the mosquitos, but there is red tape in Washington, D.C.. Bureaucrats making it harder to kill the virus, to kill the mosquitoes that carry the virus.
“Today, hard to believe there are requirements for permits that I think are absolutely unnecessary and they make it more difficult and more expensive to spray for mosquitoes in the United States.
“If a farmer, or a rancher, or a city, a community wants to spray for mosquitoes, they have to use a pesticide that’s been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. That’s one.
“So, in a lot of cases, people who want to spray for mosquitoes also have to get a separate permit under the Clean Water Act. That’s two.
“Two steps. One to get the permit to spray and two to get the EPA approval of what they’re going to spray with.
“This doesn’t add any benefit to the environment, and it certainly doesn’t help protect anybody from the Zika virus. But it’s Washington getting in the way.
“It adds another hoop for people to jump through before they can get rid of the mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus.
“Senator Mike Crapo from Idaho has written legislation that would eliminate this second unnecessary requirement.
“It’s not saying that anyone can go out and spray whatever they want.
“The pesticides would still have to be approved – so we know that they’re safe.
“But the legislation says that we don’t need this second permitting process that Washington demands.
“That’s a common-sense change.
“It’s the kind of thing that we can do to help local officials on the ground make the best decisions about how to fight these mosquitoes and this virus in their communities, in the places that they know the best – and do it quickly.
“Senator Crapo’s bill has 18 co-sponsors – and I’m proud to be one of them.
“It has bipartisan support, and it’s already passed the Environment and Public Works Committee.
“We should take up this bill, and pass it, and get these tools into people’s hands as quickly as possible.
“Now, I know that there are some Americans, and what we can do to help in this fight against Zika, and people understand this, it’s going to require us to spend more money.
“And I support that.
“That’s why the appropriations committees are also looking at the need for additional funding to address this threat.
“Regular appropriations bills are the best way for us to carefully look at where the priorities are for spending the taxpayer dollars.
“That’s how we should be paying for things around here – not just another continuing resolutions or some emergency measure.
“When something new comes up, we can look at it and figure out how to balance the cost.
“If we have to do an emergency bill to get some money out the door more quickly, well we can look at that as well.
“But what we can’t do, we can’t do without at least having a plan from the administration on where and how this money that they’re requesting will be spent.
“The Obama administration has not yet given us the level of information we need to make an informed decision.
“It appears that the administration is trying to take advantage of the Zika emergency to give itself an additional $2 billion to use however it wants. Maybe to fight Zika. Maybe to do other things.
“Now what the administration is saying is that they want the money to be used for – this is a quote – ‘assistance or research to prevent, treat, or otherwise respond to Zika virus … or other infectious diseases.’
“This wording is much too vague.
“It would allow the administration to use these emergency funds on other priorities well beyond the Zika response.
“The president’s request for emergency funding goes on to say that most of the funding could be transferred to other parts of the government – like the Environmental Protection Agency, and even the Department of Defense.
“It includes a lot of expenses that don’t necessarily qualify as emergency spending outside of the regular appropriations process.
“Both sides of the aisle know that the Zika situation is serious – and both sides want to do what we can to help.
“Congress also has an obligation to make sure that taxpayer dollars are being spent responsibly. That there is accountability.
“We should not be writing big checks for the Obama administration to cash without adequate explanation or adequate accountability. We deserve that. The American people deserve it. They expect it, and they deserve it.
“I want to be clear: Zika is a very real public health threat, and it deserves serious discussion. It deserves urgent action.
‘This fight against the Zika virus should not be turned into a political game.
“So I think it is a terrible sign that some Democrats in the Senate have begun to treat this devastating health issue like just another political talking point. That’s what they’ve done here on the floor of the Senate.
“They held a press conference calling on Congress to approve emergency funds for Zika.
“Then these same Democrats turned around and blocked passage of the Energy and Water appropriations bill for a number of days.
“The appropriations process is the best way for us to fund the Zika response – and the Senate Democrats are holding up this process for political purposes.
“We need to get moving beyond this appropriations bill to the next one that’s going to address the issue of Zika. And to hear that the minority leader might want to wait until next week to get on this bill, we need to get on this bill now.
“So, the Democrats have made it clear that they don’t even want to talk about offsetting any of the Zika funding.
“The Obama administration continues to stonewall our reasonable requests for adequate information about how it wants to spend these taxpayer dollars.
“Well, Senate Republicans are going to keep asking for this information.
“We’re going to keep pushing to use the appropriations process the way it’s intended.
“And we are committed as Republicans to addressing the public health threat posed by the Zika virus.
We will continue working across the aisle to respond to this threat, and to do it in a way that is reasonable, responsible and accountable.”
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