On July 8, Sen. Chuck Grassley wrote to two federal agencies, seeking answers on why they have been slow to distribute $589 million to fight Zika. They identified the funding as available on April 6 but the money was still largely unspent as of the time of his letter. Grassley asked for a response from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services by last Friday. The agencies told his staff that they were working on responses to his inquiries. Grassley made the following comment.
“Everyone agrees that fighting Zika is critical, and agency officials have been sounding the alarm, but the agencies have been slow to distribute available federal funds to fight the illness and short on effective strategies and information to the public. The Centers for Disease Control and the office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) exist in part for public health emergencies and medical disasters. The fiscal year 2016 ASPR budget request was more than $1.7 billion, including an additional $110 million for a rapid action response to unanticipated public health emergencies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has an annual budget of $11.7 billion. The taxpayers have the right to expect that these agencies are ready to protect all of us from public health threats. I look forward to answers on how the $589 million to fight Zika is being spent, as well as information on what the agencies are doing with their existing resources. Agency actions ought to reflect the level of urgency in agency comments about the Zika outbreak.”
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