Durbin: It's time for Republicans to do their job and fund the Zika crisis before seven week break

Jul 12, 2016 4:17 PM Save

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WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke on the Senate floor to call on Senate Republican leaders to pass a compromise bill to combat Zika before Congress enters a seven week recess. Senator Durbin blasted Republicans for conditioning emergency funding on defunding Planned Parenthood and drastic cuts to Americans’ health care.

“I spent the last several weeks meeting with maternal and fetal health care providers and community health leaders, and they have shared with me the fear and stress their patients are experiencing. Hundreds of pregnant women in Illinois are seeking care and advice from doctors. They've undergone tests to make sure that their babies are safe. Sadly, three of those Illinois women have learned they are already infected with Zika,” said Durbin. “I’m sick and tired of this political game being played by the House and Senate Republicans when it comes to a public health crisis. The President got it right five months ago. Why can't this Congress get it right now, before we leave for this seven-week vacation? Enough is enough. It’s time for the Republican majority in the House and the Senate to do their job, respond to this public health crisis in a sensibleway, just as the bipartisan bill that passed the Senate did, instead of making this a political test for the most outrageous claims .”