Chairman Lamar Alexander made the following statement today on the president’s signature of Senate health committee-passed legislation to spur treatments and cures for the Zika virus:
“This legislation will help researchers find a faster treatment or cure for the Zika virus that causes heartbreaking birth defects, and I thank Senators Franken, Isakson, Nelson, and Brown for working in a bipartisan way to meet this urgent need. I was glad to support this important bill in the Senate, and I intend to continue working on ways to keep this disease from having a damaging effect on more lives both abroad and in the United States.”
Prior to last week’s passage in the House of Representatives, this bipartisan legislation passed the Senate health committee on March 9 and the full Senate on March 17. On Feb. 24, Senator Alexander chaired a Senate health committee hearing to help the public gain a better understanding of the virus and to assess what can be done to prevent its spread.