Tim Kaine Voted Against Funding to Fight Now-Spreading Zika Virus

For months, public health officials have warned that tens of thousands of travelers returning to the United States from the Olympics in Rio, Brazil could result in the domestic transmission of Zika Virus, once travelers infected in Brazil are bitten by mosquitoes upon their return. Once the virus begins spreading in the wild, little can be done to contain its transmission, as the mosquito species capable of spreading Zika are common as far north as Maine and as far west as California.

Virginia is populated by two Zika-carrying species: the yellow fever mosquito and the Asian tiger mosquito.

According to a report from Florida, fears of domestic transmission of Zika have been realized early. As reported by the Miami Herald, Florida health officials have now ruled out travel in two cases of Zika Virus transmission:

“Florida epidemiologists have ruled out travel as a possible source for two Zika infections — one in Miami-Dade and one in Broward — suspected of being the nation’s first cases transmitted by local mosquitoes, State Surgeon General Celeste Philip said Tuesday during a meeting with Gov. Rick Scott and health officials.”

“‘The individuals do not have travel history themselves,’ Philip said at the Broward health department in Fort Lauderdale. ‘That’s the only mode that we feel pretty certain has been ruled out.'”

Prior to this report, the US had experienced many reported cases of Zika Virus infection, however all were initially acquired from travel, not transmission in the wild.

Anticipating the threat of when – not if – Zika begins spreading in the wild, a bipartisan group of lawmakers began working on a bill to help public health authorities prepare.

For months, House and Senate Republicans and Democrats had been working on a bipartisan basis to craft a $1.1 billion package allocating federal funding to address this public health crisis. Had it been enacted, the bipartisan package would have funded a comprehensive Zika Virus response effort, allocating money to vaccine development, mosquito eradication, and public awareness efforts. The bill offered an expedited response, and would also have broken down bureaucratic barriers to important front-line mosquito eradication efforts.

Importantly, the bill also incorporated strict provisions establishing fiscal accountability over federal expenditures. Unlike the “blank check” requested by the President, the bipartisan bill would have ensured that funds were spent wisely in combating Zika, not wasted by bureaucrats on unrelated efforts. Additionally, the bill would have laid the groundwork for important bio-defense efforts, to help protect the American people from future epidemics – provisions which, in hindsight, would have been helpful in fighting Zika, Ebola, and a host of other communicable public health threats.

Where was Hillary Clinton’s running mate, the designated Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Tim Kaine?

Senator Kaine voted against the bipartisan bill, instead joining with his boss, the notorious Senate obstruction artist Harry Reid to kill the bill and block all efforts at combating Zika Virus until the Senate – now in recess – reconvenes on September 6th.

The bill had passed the House of Representatives earlier, despite efforts by left-wing Democrats to disrupt the vote and stage a gun control sit-in protest rather than observing the schedule and the rules of the chamber.

Unlike Congress, the mosquitoes which are now spreading Zika Virus will not take a seven-week recess and will not wait for Senators such as Tim Kaine to put aside the partisanship and work towards a bipartisan compromise on Zika funding.

Over the next few days, as the Democratic National Convention continues, Clinton, Kaine, and their allies will take every opportunity to frame Senator Kaine as a “problem-solver” and a “moderate.”

His inability to find common ground with Republicans on this pressing public health crisis suggests otherwise. Rather, than finding a workable solution, he put partisan politics above public health.

When Zika Virus arrives in Virginia, Senator Tim Kaine will not have done anything to stop it – even if that means finding compromise and common ground with Senate Republicans.

 

Virginia Representatives Voting FOR Zika Control Funding

  • Congressman Rob Wittman
  • Congressman Scott Rigell
  • Congressman Randy Forbes
  • Congressman Robert Hurt
  • Congressman Bob Goodlatte
  • Congressman Dave Brat
  • Congressman Morgan Griffith
  • Congresswoman Barbara Comstock

 

Virginia Representatives Voting AGAINST Zika Control Funding

  • Congressman Bobby Scott
  • Congressman Don Beyer
  • Congressman Gerry Connolly

 

Virginia Senators Voting FOR Zika Control Funding

  • None

 

Virginia Senators Voting AGAINST Zika Control Funding

  • Senator Tim Kaine
  • Senator Mark Warner
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