To: Editorial Boards, Interested Parties
From: Jermaine House, South Regional Press Secretary
RE: Curbelo’s Triple Lindy on Zika
Last night, Carlos Curbelo shockingly voted against emergency funding to combat Zika, claiming that the legislation did not provide enough money. He voted this way despite having introduced basically the same legislation in a cynical attempt appear to be leading on this impending public health crisis. The backflips he has done to appear to address Zika are truly impressive and represent the finest political pandering.
Backflip #1: Curbelo was shamefully late to this issue.
It took Curbelo 11 weeks from the time President Obama requested $1.9 billion to address Zika for Curbelo to introduce funding legislation. Note: Curbelo’s legislation only called for raiding the Ebola emergency funds, which would fall well short of what public health experts and the Administration say is necessary. This also came after Annette Taddeo and Marco Rubio called on Congress to pass the president’s request.
- February 8: The Obama Administration announces that it would request from Congress more than $1.8 billion in emergency funding to prepare and respond to Zika
- February 18: House Republicans, led by Hal Rogers, turn down Obama administration request for emergency funding to fight Zika, claiming leftover funds from the Ebola virus should be used first
- February 22: President Obama writes a letter to Speaker Ryan requesting $1.9 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations to respond to Zika virus transmission
- March 2: Candidate Annette Taddeo, alongside the Mayor of South Miami and the Monroe Mosquito Commissioner, calls on Congress to act on Zika virus accepting the administration’s emergency funding request
- April 8: Senator Rubio breaks with Republicans and supported Obama administration request for $1.9 billion
- April 14: Speaker Ryan and Hal Rogers say they could not move a Zika supplemental spending bill until they received more information from the Obama administration
- April 21: Carlos Curbelo introduces a bill saying that no new emergency supplemental funds would be appropriate until Ebola funding was dispersed
Backflip #2: Curbelo claims to support the full $1.9 billion the president requested despite not including that in his bill.
It wasn’t until the Miami Herald chastised Congress for failing to fund the full $1.9 billion request that Curbelo claimed to be in support of that funding. However, the Herald was unable to find proof that Curbelo ever actually made that statement.
- April 27: Carlos Curbelo joins House Republicans to block an immediate vote on legislation to provide the full resources to fight Zika
- April 28: Carlos Curbelo joins House Republicans for the second time to block an immediate vote on legislation to provide the full resources to fight Zika
- May 2: Florida Republican Vern Buchanan becomes the first Republican to back President Obama’s Zika funding request
- May 2: The Hill reports that “Rep. Carlos Curbelo, also introduced a bill last week to immediately move all leftover funding from the U.S. Ebola virus response into the Zika response, though he didn’t say he would support the full $1.9 billion.”
- May 7: Miami Herald editorial board criticizes Congress for stalling on $1.9 billion request for Zika funding
- May 11: Governor Rick Scott travels to Washington, D.C. to make pitch for Zika aid, meets with Curbelo
- May 12: Carlos Curbelo, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Gus Bilirakis release joint statement with Governor Rick Scott following his meetings in Washington, D.C. that made no mention of $1.9 billion request
- May 12: Carlos Curbelo tells the Miami Herald he supports the administration’s request in a radio interview, though the Miami Herald is unable to find audio of the interview
- May 18: Carlos Curbelo joins House Republicans for the third time to block an immediate vote on legislation to provide the full resources to fight Zika
Backflip #3: Curbelo votes against the House bill even though it included basically the same provision as his bill.
Facing pressure for not working to pass the full $1.9 billion request, Curbelo claimed he supported the full funding, and that his bill was just a part of what would be a larger overall response. The House brought up a bill that included raiding Ebola funds, the same mechanism as Curbelo’s bill. Curbelo voted against this bill claiming it didn’t go far enough.
- May 16: House Republicans announce $622 million in new funding for Zika, far below President Obama’s request, combined with $589 million in unused Ebola funds
- May 17: Gwen Graham organizes more than 120 House Democrats to write a letter to Speaker Ryan to push House Republican leaders on pushing for $1.9 billion to fight Zika virus. Curbelo did not sign this letter.
- May 18: Miami Herald editorial board again criticizes House plan
- May 18: Carlos Curbelo votes against House Republican Zika bill, a plan very similar to the bill he put out, saying he cannot vote for the “half-hearted, short-sighted effort”
To sum up:
Curbelo was called out for ignoring this impending public health crisis. In response, he introduced an insufficient bill that codified calls to retool Ebola funding, while offering no additional funding. When that was criticized and Curbelo found himself on the opposite side of Florida’s Republican Governor and Senator, he claimed to support more funding all along, despite not including that provision in his initial bill. When House Republicans voted on their bill that included his proposal to raid Ebola funds first, Curbelo claimed it didn’t go far enough.
Congressman Curbelo’s backflips are the epitome of political pandering. As a result, he can’t now claim any leadership on Zika as he attempts to grandstand against Republicans. Don’ let him get away with this.