Blumenthal Statement on Administration's Request for $1.8B in Emergency Funding to Fight Zika Virus

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) today released the following statement on the Administration’s $1.8-billion request for emergency funding to prepare for and respond to the Zika virus.

“This funding commitment is a powerful and important step toward combatting the Zika global health emergency. It should include support for research and treatment, prevention and education, and maternal and child health. The entire world community must be mobilized in this global health initiative.”

Last month, Sen. Blumenthal wrote to President Obama to urge that he request increased funding in his Fiscal Year 2017 Budget for global public health and maternal and child health to combat the recent outbreak of mosquito-transmitted Zika virus. A recent strain of the mosquito-borne virus has been associated with severe birth defects, and cases are now being reported in the United States, including many in Puerto Rico.

Senator Blumenthal and his 45 Democratic Senate colleagues also called for the President to take a number of new actions, including taking the Zika virus into consideration as the Administration coordinates, and allocates resources in the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY16, and moves forward with the President’s upcoming FY17 budget request, or subsequent amendments. The Senators also urged the President to: coordinate an interagency response plan to address Zika; direct USAID and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to identify key gaps in the international and country-level response; and ensure that federal agencies work with state and local partners to develop a cohesive strategy for monitoring, identifying and reporting domestic Zika infections.

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