Winter, spring and summer came and went. Now, on the first day of fall vulnerable Republican Congressman Carlos Curbelo, along with fellow House Republicans, is cutting Congress’ four day workweek short and leaving tonight. Yet again, this forces one to wonder if the “do nothing Republican Congress” will ever pass a clean Zika funding bill.
It wasn’t until concerned members of the community and the Miami Herald called out Curbelo and his Republican Congress for his months of inaction on Zika that he conveniently changed his tune and falsely claimed that he had been leading on the issue all along.
“More than 200 days have gone by since President Obama requested funding for Zika from Congress, and Curbelo did absolutely nothing to lead on a growing crisis that is jeopardizing the health of South Florida families. Now he’s cutting out of Washington a day early, without acting on Zika again,” said Javier Gamboa of the DCCC.
Learn more about Republican Carlos Curbelo’s months of inaction on Zika:
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
April 8: Senator Rubio breaks with Republicans and supports 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 appropriated until Ebola funding was dispersed
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, met with Curbelo
May 12: Carlos Curbelo, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Gus Bilirakis release a joint statement with Governor Rick Scott following his meetings in Washingotn, D.C. that made no mention of $1.9 billion request
May 12: Carlos Curbelo tells the Miami Herald he supported the administration’s request in a radio interview, though the Miami Herald was unable to find audio of the interview
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
May 18: Miami Herald editorial board again criticizes House plan
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
May 18: Carlos Curbelo joins House Republicans for the fourth time to block an immediate vote on legislation to provide the full resources to fight Zika
May 18: Carlos Curbelo votes against House Republican Zika bill, a plan very similar to the bill he put out, saying he could not vote for the “half-hearted, short-sighted effort”
May 24: Carlos Curbelo joins House Republicans for the fifth time to block an immediate vote on legislation to provide the full resources to fight Zika
May 26: Carlos Curbelo joins House Republicans for the sixth time to block an immediate vote on legislation to provide the full resources to fight Zika
June 8: Carlos Curbelo joins House Republicans for the seventh time to block an immediate vote on legislation to provide the full resources to fight Zika
September 7: Carlos Curbelo joins House Republicans for the eighth to block an immediate vote on legislation to provide the full resources to fight Zika
September 13: Carlos Curbelo joins House Republicans for the ninth time to block an immediate vote on legislation to provide the full resources to fight Zika