Murray continues to urge Republicans to act now to protect communities nationwide from the Zika virus
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), top Democrat on the Labor, Health, and Human Services appropriations subcommittee, issued the following statement urging Republicans to drop their partisan Zika legislation and work with Democrats on a serious emergency funding package before the 7-week Congressional recess. The Puerto Rican Department of Health recently reported 40 percent increase, over just one week, in the number of pregnant women diagnosed with Zika on the island, underscoring the critical need for family planning and other preventive services.
“When women and families have a job to do—bills to pay, or a project to finish at work—they know they have to deliver. That’s why it was it was extremely disappointing to hear Republican leaders make clear last week that they think their job on Zika is done, even though after months of Republican foot-dragging, partisanship, and delay, we’re just days away from Congress packing up and leaving—without taking action to protect communities nationwide from the Zika virus.
“There are now more than 3600 reported cases of Zika in the U.S. and territories, expecting mothers across the country are being monitored for possible infection, and unfortunately, the threat of the Zika virus is only expected to get worse through the summer. That’s why this week, I’m urging my Republican colleagues to do what they should have done months ago: push aside the extreme members of their party, drop the partisan politics on women’s health, and work with Democrats to send a serious Zika response bill to the President’s desk. Women and families across the country do their jobs, and before anyone gets to leave town, this Republican-controlled Congress should as well.”
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