Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler speaks at a coffee event with the public in Vancouver Wednesday October 2015.
The U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler’s request for Zika virus prevention funding in the 2017 Agriculture Appropriations bill Tuesday.
The committee unanimously approved the $10 million request for prevention in the Women, Infants and Children Program, or WIC, from Herrera Beutler, R-Wash.
WIC is accessible in every state and U.S. territory, offering nutritional and other assistance for low-income pregnant women.
WIC already has Zika prevention efforts underway in affected U.S. territories, including outreach focused on preventing the spread of Zika and distribution of kits with bug spray, bug nets and larvicide, according to a press release.
The program would need to use the $10 million to expand its prevention efforts in the continental U.S.
“We have a responsibility to act now to protect women and children from the devastating threats of the Zika virus,” Herrera Beutler said. “... Dedicating resources now is necessary to not only protect the health of Americans, but also to protect taxpayer dollars down the road.”
Zika virus can harm the fetus of an infected pregnant woman, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently confirmed that the Zika virus causes microcephaly and other birth defects which have been observed in babies in South and Central America.
