Campaigning for office is definitely important, but Tim Kaine took advantage of his time in front of the cameras today to press for something even more important.
“Congress should not be in recess when Zika is advancing. We ought to go back and call an emergency session,” said Kaine, a sitting senator from Virginia. …
Kaine praised the Senate for passing a bipartisan bill 89-8 earlier this year, but the House added language restricting the use of some funds for women’s health care and also shifted some money away from Obamacare to pay for the new funding. Democrats balked and blocked the House-passed bill before leaving for a seven-week recess.
News of the first locally transmitted case of Zika in Florida came just a few days ago. Then it was four. Then 10. Then it jumped to 14 cases. And now the CDC has issued a travel warning of a kind it’s never had to write before.
Federal health officials on Monday urged pregnant women to stay away from a Miami neighborhood where they have discovered additional cases of Zika infection — apparently the first time the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised people not to travel to a place in the continental United States.
Those infected in Puerto Rico now number in the thousands, with hundreds of pregnancies at risk.
President Obama originally requested Zika funding six months ago. After months of stalling, the final bill was laced with poison pills meant to ensure its failure. Democrats requested a delay in the start of the summer break to address the problem—and Republicans simply ignored them.
The bill would restrict funding to Planned Parenthood, and specifically block funds for contraceptives in Puerto Rico. Because when you’re battling a disease that causes horrible, life-long birth defects, there’s no better way to do it than blocking funds to women’s health and keeping people from getting contraceptives. And nothing says “we care” like specifically making cuts in the area most affected by the disease.
Eventually, Congress left town with Republicans more interested in trying to claim a political victory than in doing anything to address the problem.
Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Republicans are currently in a "logic-free zone."
"The Republicans are choosing vacation over protecting pregnant women and their babies from these terrible birth defects that can be prevented," he added from the Senate floor. …
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) sent a letter to McConnell on Thursday asking him to delay the summer break until after they get an agreement on Zika funding.
McConnell and Ryan have already made it clear they’d rather pretend that the whole thing is Democrats’ fault and are quite willing to sacrifice real families and real children for a perceived political advantage.
But Tim Kaine currently has a unique national spotlight. If he can use it to bring some progress to this issue, that will be an extraordinary victory.
Want to see how your area looks when it comes to Zika risk? Check the map at ZikaZoneUSA.