Cornyn objects to Reid Zika consent
Senator Cornyn objected.
Unofficial transcript:
REID: ZIKA VIRUS -- MY FRIEND TALKS ABOUT,
WELL, WE'RE TRYING TO GET INFORMATION. THAT IS RIDICULOUS.
RIDICULOUS. AND WE'LL HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT IN A FEW MINUTES. NO
DISTRICT COURT NOMINATIONS, NO HEARINGS ON THE SUPREME COURT.
SO THERE'S NO NEED TO GO OVER WHAT HASN'T BEEN DONE. IMAGINE,
THOUGH, MR. PRESIDENT, IF YOU WILL, THAT THIS GREAT COUNTRY IS
FACING A POTENTIAL OUTBREAK OF A DANGEROUS VIRUS. NOTHING THAT
WAS MADE UP IN THE MOVIES, NOTHING THAT IS SOME SPECIAL TV
SHOW. IT IS ACTUALLY A POTENTIAL OUTBREAK OF A DANGEROUS VIRUS.
IMAGINE MOSQUITOES ARE CARRYING A VIRUS THAT AFFECTS PREGNANT
WOMEN, A VIRUS THAT CAUSES BIRTH DEFECTS IN BABIES, NOT
ALLOWING THEIR BRAINS AND CONSULS TO DEVELOP. -- SCULS TO
DEVELOP. -- SKULLS TO DEVELOP. WE DON'T KNOW THE FULL EXTENT OF
THIS. WE HAD A BRIEFING DOWN HERE A WEEK AGO TODAY. THE CENTERS
FOR DISEASE CONTROL, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, WE HAD THE
SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HERE. THEY ARE IN A
STATE OF EMERGENCY. THEY NEED TO DO SOMETHING. THEY NEED TO
DEVELOP VACCINES. THIS IS ON ITS WAY. IT'S HERE. IT'S HERE IN
PUERTO RICO. WE HAVE CASES REPORTED IN -- AND MY FRIEND FROM
FLORIDA -- IN MY FRIEND FROM FLORIDA'S STATE, SOMEONE WHO I
SERVED WITH IN THE HOUSE AND SERVED HERE IN THE SENATE, REALLY
ONE OF OUR MOST OUTSTANDING MEMBERS, SENATOR NELSON OF FLORIDA.
THERE ARE CASES WE ALREADY KNOW OF IN FLORIDA. 30 STATES ARE
GOING TO BE AFFECTED WITH THIS -- THE MOSQUITOES, AS THE
WEATHER WARMS. I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT MOSQUITOES IN THE PAST HAVE
NEVER CAUSED BIRTH DEFECTS. THEY'VE CAUSED ALL KINDS OF
PROBLEMS WITH MALARIA AND OTHER THINGS. BUT NOT BIRTH DEFECTS.
NOW THEY'RE HERE. NOW IMAGINE, AFTER WHAT I'VE JUST LAID OUT TO
YOU, THAT THOSE IN CONTROL OF CONGRESS DO NOTHING TO ADDRESS
THE IMMINENT DANGER POSED BY THIS VIRUS. SOUNDS LIKE SOME
SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL, DOESN'T IT?
BUT IT'S NOT. THIS IS REAL LIFE HERE IN AMERICA. THIS IS THE
REALITY OF THE REPUBLICANS' REFUSAL TO RESPOND TO ZIKA. MY
FRIEND, THE SENIOR SENATOR FROM WASHINGTON BEING INVOLVED IN
TRYING TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING. SHE SAID YESTERDAY THAT SHE
HASN'T HEARD A WORD FROM THE REPUBLICANS ON THIS IMPORTANT
ISSUE. THIS IS REAL LIFE. IT IS A SCOURGE, ZIKA, THAT'S ALREADY
AFFECTED OUR COUNTRY. IT'S TIME WE PASSED AN EMERGENCY
APPROPRIATIONS BILL TO TAKE CARE OF IT, TO FIGHT IT. OUT OF
TRADITION, COMMON SENSE, AND PRECEDENT. PUBLIC HEALTH IS AN
EMERGENCY AND DEMANDS A RESPONSE. AS I'VE INDICATED, HUNDREDS
OF PEOPLE IN PUERTO RICO QUICKLY APPROACHING 1,000 ARE INFECTED
-- IN PUERTO RICO. AND AS THE WEATHER WARMS, IT'S GOING TO
MULTIPLY THROUGHOUT THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES. 30 STATES
ARE GOING TO BE LIKELY AFFECTED WITH THIS MOSQUITO, KILLER
MOSQUITO. MORE THAN TWO MONTHS AGO, MY FRIEND SAID, WE NEED
MORE FROM THE ADMINISTRATION. MORE THAN TWO MONTHS AGO THE
ADMINISTRATION DESPERATELY AS -- DESPERATE AS THEY WERE, SENT A
LETTER TO THE CONGRESS SAYING, WE NEED AN EMERGENCY REQUEST OF
$1.9 BILLION. OUT OF DESPERATION, WHAT DID THE WHITE HOUSE DO?
TWO YEARS AGO WE WERE FIGHTING EBOLA, STILL A WORLDWIDE PROBLEM
AND A PROBLEM FROM OUR COUNTRY. THEY HAD TO TAKE MONEY THAT
THEY WERE WORKING ON VACCINES, NOW WE HAVE A SITUATION WHERE
BOTH MOSQUITO-CAUSING ZIKA, THE EBOLA SCOURGE -- BOTH OF THEM
ARE UNDERFUNDED NOW. THE REPUBLICANS HAVE DONE A DOUBLE WHAMMY
HERE. WE NEED TO GIVE THE MONEY BACK TO THE AGENCIES THAT ARE
DOING SOMETHING TO HELP US ON EBOLA AND FUND ZIKA. THEY HAVEN'T
LIFTED A FINGER THAT WE'RE AWARE OF, AS IS SAID YESTERDAY. THE
DISTINGUISHED SENATOR FROM WASHINGTON HASN'T HEARD FROM THE
SO-CALLED NEGOTIATORS IN MORE THAN A WEEK. EVEN AS THE CENTERS
FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH ARE
PLEADING FOR US TO ACT, THEY'VE BEEN VERY CLEAR ABOUT THE
FUNDING NEED TO FIGHT XI KAVMENT THEY'VE -- TO FIGHT ZIKA.
THEY'VE TOLD US, WE NEED MORE FROM THE ADMINISTRATION. IT
WASN'T ALL THAT LONG AGO THAT MY FRIEND, THE REPUBLICAN LEADER,
WAS SINGING A MUCH DIFFERENT SONG. HERE'S WHAT HE SAID ABOUT
FUNDING THE OUTBREAK OF EBOLA TWO YEARS AGO. THIS IS A DIRECT
QUOTE. "I THINK THEY SHOULD HAVE ANYTHING THEY WANT, WHATEVER
THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION THINK THEY NEED,
THEY'LL -- WE'LL GIVE IT TO THEM." CLOSE QUOTE. HE SAID THE
SAME THING SEVEN YEARS AGO WHEN WE WERE FACED WITH ANOTHER REAL
PROBLEM -- THE SWINGE FLU. HERE'S WHAT HE SAID THEN. "IF THE
ADMINISTRATION NEEDS ANYTHING ADDITIONALLY FROM THE CONGRESS, I
KNOW WE'LL BE HAPPY TO PROVIDE IT ON A TOTALLY BIPARTISAN
BASIS." CLOSE QUOTE. FAST-FORWARD SEVEN YEARS AND THE
REPUBLICANS NOW IN THE MAJORITY WON'T PROVIDE THE REQUESTED
FUNDING FOR ZIKA. WHY?
WE KNOW WHY. THEY CAN'T GET THROUGH OVER HERE. THEY CAN'T GET
IT DONE. THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND THE NATIONAL
INSTITUTES OF HEALTH KNOW WHAT THEY NEED. THEY'VE TOLD US.
THEY'VE TOLD ANYONE THAT WILL LISTEN. SO WHY CAN'T THE
REPUBLICANS GIVE IT TO THEM?
THEY CAN'T -- IF THEY WON'T GIVE THE EXPERTS THEY NEED TO
COMBAT ZIKA, WHAT DO THEY PROPOSE?
WE COULD ASK THE ZIKA MOSQUITOES CARRYING -- THE ZIKA-CARRYING
MOSQUITOES. WE COULD ASK THEM, DON'T BREED THIS YEAR. REMEMBER,
ANYWAY, IT IS THE LAST TERM OF A TWO-TERM PRESIDENT. MAYBE WE
SHOULDN'T DO IT THIS YEAR. THE SENATE SHOULD NOT LEAVE TODAY
WITHOUT ADDRESSING THIS SERIOUS ISSUE. WE SHOULDN'T BE TAKING
TEN DAYS OFF AS A DANGEROUS VIRUS THREATENS THIS NATION. AND IT
IS THREATENING US. THE REPUBLICANS SHOULD DO THEIR JOBS AND
PASS A $1.9 MILLION EMERGENCY SPENDING BILL TO HELP PROTECT
AMERICANS FROM THE ZIKA VIRUS. SO, MR. PRESIDENT, BASED ON THAT
-- AND I WANT --
- NELSON: WILL THE SENATOR YIELD BEFORE HE MAKES THE REQUEST
- REID: YES, I WILL BE HAPPY TO DO THAT. I WANT THE RECORD TO
THAN ANY OTHER SENATOR, BECAUSE OF WHAT HE HAS -- IS FACING AND
WILL FACE IN THE VERY HOT, HUMID, SOMETIMES TROPIC STATE OF
FLORIDA, HE RECOGNIZED THIS A LONG TIME AGO, AND I ADMIRE HIS
BEING THE HEAD OF THIS ISSUE. HE'S BEEN OUT THERE IN FRONT AND
SOME OF US HAVE BEEN TRYING TO CATCH UP WITH HIM. YES, I WILL
BE HAPPY TO YIELD.
- NELSON: MR. PRESIDENT, I THANK THE SENATOR FROM YIELDING. I
PERSPECTIVE. THE STATE OF FLORIDA PRESENTLY HAS 94 INFECTED
CASES THAT WE KNOW OF, INCLUDING FIVE PREGNANT WOMEN THAT WE
KNOW OF. WE ALSO HAVE A VERY MOBILE AND SIZABLE POPULATION OF
PUERTO RICANS. GO TO THAT ISLAND AND LO AND BEHOLD, IT IS
ESTIMATED THAT 20% OF THE POPULATION IS INFECTED. AND UPWARDS
OF CLOSE TO 100 CASES -- MULTIPLE HUNDREDS THAT WE KNOW OF ON
THE NUMBER -- THE ACTUAL NUMBER, I THINK, IS IN THE 80'S OF
PREGNANT WOMEN THAT WE KNOW OF THAT ARE INFECTED. NOW, AS THE
MAJORITY -- AS THE LEADER HAS ALREADY DESCRIBED, THIS HAS
HORRENDOUS CONSEQUENCES, NOT ONLY TO THE FAMILIES BUT THE COST
TO SOCIETY BECAUSE OF THE DEFORMED BABIES THAT RESULT -- AND
NOT NECESSARILY AT BIRTH. THESE DEFECTS MAY COME YEARS LATER,
BUT THAT IS A HUGE COST TO SOCIETY, NOT EVEN TO SPEAK OF THE
HUMAN TRAGEDY. AND SO IS IT ANY WONDER THAT I JOIN WITH THE
MINORITY LEADER IN BEGGING FOR THIS EMERGENCY APPROPRIATIONS OF $1.9 BILLION?
- REID: THE RECORD SHOULD REFLECT THE PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO
PROCEED TO CONSIDERATION OF CALENDAR NUMBER 157, H.R. 3038,
THAT ALL AFTER THE ENACTING CLAUSE BE STRICKEN, A THAT THE
NELSON SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT TO ENHANCE THE FEDERAL RESPONSE ON
PREPAREDNESS RRP TO ZIKA, WHICH IS AT THE DESK BEING BE AGREED
TO, THAT THERE BE UP
DESIGNEES, ATHAT UPON THE USE OR YEELT YIELDING BACK OF TIME,
THE BILL BE READ A THIRD TIME AND THE SENATE VOTE ON THE
MEASURE, WITH NO INTERVENING ACTION OR DEBATE.
