Burr Week In Review: Delivering For North Carolina | Eastern North Carolina Now

    This was another successful week for Senator Burr as the Senate, and later the House, passed key legislation he sponsored that will help North Carolina veterans as well as other veterans throughout the country. Senator Burr also helped move the conversation forward on providing the necessary resources to combat the Zika virus.

    For those keeping track, this week also marked the one-week anniversary of Deborah Ross' campaign appearance with Hillary Clinton in Charlotte that came on the heels of the FBI releasing the results of the investigation into Clinton's email scandal. Ross has inexplicably refused to comment on the matter despite appearing side by side with Clinton.

    On Monday, Senator Burr announced he had raised $1.57 million during the second quarter, a haul that leaves him with $6.95 million cash-on-hand. And according to a Associated Press report, Ross only has $1.9 million cash-on-hand--over $5 million less than Senator Burr. The Winston-Salem Journal also noted the significant cash-on-hand advantage for Senator Burr.

    Winston-Salem Journal: "But missing from the announcement was information about the Ross campaign's latest cash-on-hand total.

    "On the cash-on-hand front, Burr has held a significant lead.

    "Burr aides said the senator has $6.95 million on hand at the end of the second quarter. That numbers is higher than those he reported during the same period in 2010 and 2004, when he reported $6.26 million and $6.6 million, respectively."

    On Wednesday, the Senate officially passed the Department of Veterans Affairs Dental Insurance Reauthorization Act of 2016, legislation Senator Burr sponsored to ensure all veterans continue to receive the care they deserve.

    Also on Wednesday, Senator Burr penned a joint op-ed with Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) that highlighted the need to address the serious threats posed by the Zika virus by passing the bipartisan SMASH Act, saying "let's not be penny wise and dollar foolish when it comes to public health preparedness and protecting Americans." A portion of the op-ed can be found below:

    The Hill: Why We Must SMASH Mosquitos To Stop Zika

    By Sens. Richard Burr, Angus King and Bill Nelson

    In 2002-03, more than 14,000 people in the United States contracted West Nile virus. It returned again in 2012, infecting 6,000 more Americans. We all know the culprit: mosquitos.

    Mosquitos are more than just a summertime pest. They spread not only West Nile; they also spread malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, eastern equine encephalitis, chikungunya, and now, Zika-a virus that can cause serious birth defects in babies.

    ...

    More than ten years ago, during the peak of the 2003 West Nile outbreak, Congress quickly responded by passing the bipartisan Mosquito Abatement for Safety and Health (MASH) Act. Because most mosquito control occurs at the local level, MASH authorized spending $100 million to provide matching grants to local efforts to fight, control, and eliminate mosquitos - which in turn stops the transmission of the diseases they carry.

    ...

    That's why we have introduced bipartisan legislation - the Strengthening MASH (SMASH) Act - that would authorize $130 million every year for the next five years for mosquito control. We are facing a long-term problem-the question is not whether we will spend our tax dollars to address this problem but when. We think it's smarter that we make the investment both when it is cheaper and before people get sick.

    Let's not be penny wise and dollar foolish when it comes to public health preparedness and protecting Americans. Instead, let's learn from our history, take action now, and support the programs necessary to SMASH Zika and better prepare for the next mosquito-borne threat we may face.

    On Thursday night, the Senate passed two more pieces of legislation that were cosponsored by Senator Burr. One bill was the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act, which calls for the FBI and the Department of Justice to work together with community advocacy groups and other entities to investigate and prosecute, at the local level, any unsolved murders that may have been racially motivated. The other bill was Kevin and Avonte's Law that provides funding for programs that help families locate relatives who suffer from illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease that make them prone to wander off alone without any notice.

• Contact: Jesse Hunt
•     jhunt@burrforsenate.com