Appropriations Democrats Request Special Meeting on Zika
Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) today urged Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) to hold a special meeting on the Administration’s request for emergency supplemental funding to respond to the Zika virus.
Under the rules of the Appropriations Committee, three members may request the Chairman convene a special meeting. If the Chairman fails to schedule such a meeting within seven calendar days, a majority of the Committee Members may convene a special meeting on their own.
Full letter follows:
Dear Mr. Chairman:
We write to request that the Appropriations Committee hold a special meeting to hear from the Administration on its $1.9 billion Zika virus supplemental request before Congress recesses for the next district work period.
The Zika virus is a true public health emergency that has the potential to affect millions of Americans this summer, including more than two million pregnant women. The federal government's top public health experts affirm that new information about the severity of the Zika virus is cause for even more concern. There are already 700 cases in the United States, including 354 in the continental U.S. Now is the time for Congress to act in a bipartisan way to mount aggressive response and prevention efforts.
At the Military Construction-VA markup yesterday, you stated, “I have the staff of the committee now working on a supplemental, if we can get the administration to get us the numbers we would be happy to file that supplemental bill..." We are happy to hear that. While we believe that the Administration has provided ample information concerning the reasons why its $1.9 billion emergency funding request to combat the Zika virus is urgently needed now, we suggest that the committee hold a special meeting to lay out your questions and get them all answered by the Administration. We formally request this special meeting immediately.
It is imperative that the Appropriations Committee move quickly on this potential public health catastrophe and that we provide both short- and long-term resources, to properly prepare our public health system.
Sincerely,
Nita Lowey
Rosa DeLauro
Debbie Wasserman Schultz