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Cole Appointed to Conference Committee to Confront Zika

May 26, 2016

Washington, DC – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement after he was appointed by Speaker Paul Ryan to serve on a bipartisan conference committee. Cole will be one of eight House Republican lawmakers tasked with finalizing comprehensive legislation to confront Zika and prevent its spread. In addition, the conference committee is tasked with negotiating legislation to fund new and ongoing military infrastructure projects and programs, assistance and benefits to serve our nation's veterans.

"There is no disagreement that we must provide adequate funds to respond to Zika. It's the funding mechanism for doing so that remains an area of contention between Republicans and the Administration" said Cole. "As we begin this important work in conference, I am hopeful that conferees on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers of Congress will waste no time in finding common ground for confronting the virus and preventing its spread."

Upon appointing the Republican conferees, Speaker Paul Ryan said the following:

"Our goal is to direct resources to where they are most needed and can do the most good. That is why we pushed the administration to release $589 million that was already in the pipeline out the door as fast as possible. Now we will work with the Senate to make sure we get this right so we can protect the public from the spread of Zika."

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Issues:Healthcare