WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Kay Granger issued the following statement on Senate Democrats’ voting against the House measure to provide $1.1 billion to stop the spread of the Zika virus and improve mosquito control measures to protect Americans.

“The American people are fed up with the dysfunction in Washington and Senate Democrats’ decision to block critical Zika funding is yet another example of why. This Democrat filibuster is about blatant politics instead of what the House is focused on – protecting young women and their babies susceptible to the severe consequences of Zika.

“Zika poses a major threat to the U.S. and the world. There are already cases of Zika in the U.S. During my most recent meeting with Dr. Freiden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), he said that this virus is moving so fast that days really matter in controlling this virus. Yet Senate Democrats have cynically invented excuses to further their political agenda at the expense of the health and safety of Americans.

“The critical Zika response funding passed by the House ensures that there will be no shortage of funds to address this devastating virus. In fact, just last month Senate Democrats unanimously supported the exact same $1.1 billion level of funding they blocked this week. Every day that partisan politics delays this funding is a day lost that we could be addressing this crisis.

“As chair of the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, I have worked closely with Dr. Freiden to respond to the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and save lives. The Zika response legislation incorporates some of the best lessons learned from our response to Ebola, including the importance of acting quickly with a clear plan to confront the crisis and of using targeted and focused funding.

“As we now work to address the public health crisis posed by Zika, we must remember that time is of the essence and that lives hang in the balance – especially those of our most vulnerable, unborn babies.”

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