U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and 40 of his Senate Democratic colleagues urged the leaders of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives to immediately call Congress back into session in order to pass emergency funding legislation to address the growing public health threat posed by the Zika virus.
Zika is known to cause microcephaly and other birth defects in babies born to women infected during pregnancy, but Congress adjourned for seven weeks last month without approving additional funding to help federal agencies fight the virus.
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, Sen. Warner and his colleagues wrote, “The problems the American people confront do not disappear simply because Congress does. In the case of the rapidly expanding Zika crisis, the problem has grown significantly worse since the Republican-led Congress went on recess. We urge you to immediately cancel the remainder of the congressional recess and get back to work to help the American public, especially women and families, amidst this crisis.”
According to health officials, there are now nearly 5,500 confirmed infections in Puerto Rico, and at least 15 people have contracted the disease after being bitten by infected mosquitos in the state of Florida – the first such infections confirmed within the continental United States. At present, more than 850 pregnant women in the U.S. and its territories have Zika. According to an estimate cited by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Tom Frieden, the cost of treating a single case of microcephaly in a newborn could be as high as $10 million over a lifetime.
As of today, there have been 56 reported cases of the Zika virus in Virginia, primarily linked to travel to regions where Zika virus transmission is ongoing. To date, no mosquitos in Virginia have tested positive for the Zika virus.
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Chris Graham
