Zero Impacted Kids in America (ZIKA) Act

Zero Impacted Kids in America (ZIKA) Act

This bill provides FY2016 emergency supplemental appropriations to the Departments of State and Health and Human Services (HHS) to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the Zika virus and other infectious diseases.

The bill specifies permissible uses for the funds and designates the funds as an emergency requirement, which exempts the funds from discretionary spending limits. The emergency funding is only available if the President also designates the amounts as an emergency requirement.

The bill provides appropriations to HHS for:

• the Food and Drug Administration,
• the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
• the National Institutes of Health, and
• the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund.

The bill amends the Public Health Service Act to permit Project BioShield to be used to support the advanced development and procurement of medical countermeasures to diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or treat harm from any infectious disease that may pose a threat to the public health. (Under current law, Project BioShield supports only countermeasures against specific chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear terrorist threats.)

The bill provides funds for HHS to award grants to U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands) for the purpose of combating the Zika virus.

The bill provides appropriations to the Department of State for:

• the Administration of Foreign Affairs,
• the U.S. Agency for International Development,
• Bilateral Economic Assistance,
• International Security Assistance, and
• Multilateral Assistance.

This bill amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to adjust the FY2017-FY2025 funding levels for the Social Services Block Grant Program.