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Marco Rubio · Public health · Zika emergency funding · updated August 31, 2026

He asked for $1.9 billion against Zika, said he would take less, and voted that way

In May 2016 Marco Rubio told the Senate to pass the full $1.9 billion the White House wanted against Zika. This page holds his words from that morning and all 15 roll calls he cast as the money shrank to $1.1 billion and became law in September.

$1.9Bwhat he asked for on May 17

$1.1Bwhat became law on September 29

15roll calls directly about the money, all voted yes

135days from the first Senate votes to the signature

Three things to know

The White House asked Congress for $1.9 billion in emergency Zika funding in February 2016. Rubio backed the full amount: he co-sponsored the $1.9 billion amendment with Senator Nelson and voted for it on May 17. A majority said yes, 50 to 47, but advancing it needed 60 votes.
That morning he had said $1.1 billion was "better than nothing, and I will support it." He then voted for the $1.1 billion compromise the same afternoon, for the negotiated June package all three times it came up over the summer, and for the September stopgap bill that finally carried the money into law.
The delay was about conditions, not the amount. The June package added a limit on which health providers could get part of the money, took back $750 million in earlier spending, and waived a clean-water permit; Democrats blocked it three times. The September version changed those conditions, and the same $1.1 billion passed 72 to 26.

The report

What happened

In February 2016 the White House asked Congress for roughly $1.9 billion in emergency Zika funding: money for mosquito control, vaccine and diagnostic research, care for pregnant women and children, and the response abroad. By May 17 the Senate had three rival funding proposals teed up for votes on the same afternoon: the full $1.9 billion from Florida's two senators, Nelson and Rubio; $1.1 billion from Senator Cornyn, paid for by taking money back from the health law's prevention fund; and $1.1 billion from Senators Blunt and Murray with no such take-back. Price was not the only difference between them. The Cornyn plan paid for itself by pulling money back from the health law's prevention fund. The other two called the spending an emergency, which skips that requirement. The plans also set different deadlines for spending the money. Each faced a vote to advance: a vote to cut off debate so a proposal can get a final vote, which takes 60 yes votes, so a simple majority is not enough. The first two fell short; the compromise advanced and passed. The fight then moved to House-Senate negotiations, stalled all summer, and ended on September 28 when the money rode on a stopgap spending bill.

The chronology

Six months, three versions

DateDecision

Feb 2016The White House asks Congress for $1.9 billion for mosquito control, vaccine and diagnostic research, care for pregnant women and children, and the response abroad

May 17Three rival funding plans get advance votes the same afternoon; Rubio votes to advance all three the $1.9 billion fails 50-47; the Cornyn $1.1 billion fails 52-45; the Blunt-Murray $1.1 billion advances 68-29

May 19The Senate adopts the $1.1 billion into the spending bill, H.R. 2577 adopted 68-30; Rubio votes yes

Jun 22House and Senate negotiators file the June package it adds a provider limit on $95 million in health grants, takes back $750 million in earlier spending, and waives a clean-water pesticide permit

Jun 28 to Sep 6The June package fails three advance votes 52-48, 52-44, 52-46; Rubio votes to advance each time; Democrats block it each time

Sep 27The stopgap bill carrying the money fails twice 45-55 and 40-59, in a dispute over aid for the Flint water crisis; Flint is settled in a different bill

Sep 28The Senate advances the stopgap twice, 77-21, and passes it 72-26 Rubio votes yes on all three

Sep 29Signed into law as Public Law 114-223

His words, from the record

What he said

May 17, 2016 was the day the Senate voted on all three Zika funding plans, and Rubio opened it with a floor speech laying out what he wanted and what he would settle for. The quotes below are that speech, his posts as the votes happened, and what he said when the money finally passed.

2016-05-17 · Senate floor

From the morning floor speech, on the $1.9 billion he and Senator Nelson proposed:

fully funding the request

Congressional Record

2016-05-17 · Senate floor

Same speech, on what he would do if only the smaller $1.1 billion plan could pass:

if we are left with a vote on the Blunt-Murray amendment, I think that is better than nothing, and I will support it

Congressional Record

2016-05-17 · Senate floor

Same speech, on the House's $622 million plan:

Their funding measure isn't even $1.1 billion. It is $622 million, and quite frankly, that will not cut it.

Congressional Record

2016-09-28 · Senate floor

On the floor September 28, the day the money passed:

after a lot of work, the Senate has finally passed funding to take on Zika

Congressional Record

2016-05-17 · X post

Posted the morning of the three votes:

Today we will vote to approve #Zika funding. Only ? is how much. Three separate proposals will be voted on.

X post

2016-05-17 · X post

Posted after the votes that day:

In Senate we just passed $1.2 billion for #Zika. Hopefully House will soon do the same. Important we get ahead of this.

X post

2016-08-25 · X post

Posted August 25, campaigning against Rep. Patrick Murphy, a month into the summer blockade:

I voted 5 times to fund the effort against Zika. Murphy voted 2 times AGAINST funding it.

X post

2016-09-28 · X post

Posted the day it passed:

Today we passed $1.1 billion in Senate to fund the fight against #ZIKA. Headed over to House. Took too long but finally got done.

X post

His votes, from the record

What he did

2016-05-17Voted yesto advance the Nelson-Rubio $1.9 billion Zika amendment, the full amount he had urged that morning, on the amendment he co-sponsored. A majority said yes, but it fell short of the 60 votes needed, 50 to 47. Roll call 73
2016-05-17Voted yesto advance the Cornyn alternative, minutes later: $1.1 billion, paid for by taking the money back from the health law's prevention fund. It also fell short of 60, 52 to 45. Three rival funding plans got advance votes the same afternoon; he voted to advance all three. Roll call 74
2016-05-17Voted yesto advance the $1.1 billion Blunt-Murray compromise, the third of the three. It cleared the 60-vote bar, 68 to 29. He kept the promise from the morning speech: better than nothing. Roll call 75
2016-05-19Voted yesto adopt the $1.1 billion compromise into the spending bill. Roll call 77
2016-06-09Voted yeson the Nelson motion telling the Senate's negotiators to protect the Ebola money his May speech had defended. The motion failed, 46 to 49. Roll call 93
2016-06-28Voted yeseach of the three times the Senate tried to advance the negotiated June package as a whole. The package carried the $1.1 billion, and also new conditions added in negotiation; all three tries fell short of 60 votes. Roll call 112
2016-09-28Voted yesto pass the stopgap spending bill (H.R. 5325) that finally carried the $1.1 billion. The day before, the same bill had failed twice in a dispute over money for the Flint water crisis; once Flint was settled in another bill, he voted to advance it twice and then to pass it, 72 to 26. It was signed into law the next day. Roll call 151

The blockade

What the June package added, and who objected

The June negotiated package was not the May Senate bill with a new cover. (When the House and Senate pass different versions, negotiators produce one final text, called a conference report, that each chamber must then take or leave as a whole; this one accompanied H.R. 2577.) Negotiators added a $95 million grant for health services that could flow only through "public health departments, hospitals, or reimbursed through public health plans", wording that could keep the money from some family-planning providers; the Congressional Research Service noted that Profamilias, Puerto Rico's Planned Parenthood affiliate, does not receive Medicaid funding and so could be shut out. The package also took back $750 million in earlier spending, most of it unused Affordable Care Act money meant for territory insurance exchanges, and waived a Clean Water Act permit requirement for mosquito pesticide spraying. Senate Democrats said no on those grounds. Durbin, June 22: "This conference report makes a terrible situation worse." The Democratic leaders' letter, June 28: the package would "limit funding for providers of birth control services" and weaken clean water protections. The three failed advance votes that summer (June 28, July 14, September 6) were votes on that whole package, not votes on "the Zika money" alone. Rubio voted to advance it each time; Democrats blocked it each time.

The resolution

What changed by September

The version that finally passed in September was different again. The $95 million provider-restricted grant became a $75 million fund to repay Zika care costs, and this time the law "does not specify or limit the types of providers that may receive reimbursement". The Affordable Care Act take-back shrank from $543 million to $168 million. The pesticide-spraying waiver was dropped. That is why the same $1.1 billion that failed three times in the summer passed 72 to 26 in the fall: the price stayed the same, the conditions attached to it changed. The last obstacle was separate: on September 27 the stopgap bill failed twice in a dispute over aid for the Flint water crisis; Flint was settled in a different bill, and the next day the Senate advanced the stopgap twice and passed it.

Findings

What the votes support

He said he wanted $1.9 billion, and voted for $1.9 billion on the amendment he co-sponsored. He said that morning he would support $1.1 billion if that was what could pass, and he voted for $1.1 billion the same afternoon. Over the summer he voted to advance the negotiated package all three times it came up, and in September he voted for the stopgap that carried the money into law. None of the 15 roll calls cuts against what he said on the floor.

Two findings should be kept apart. The record supports the narrower one: he voted to move Zika money toward passage at every recorded opportunity on these two bills. It does not by itself support the broader one: that he endorsed every condition attached to that money along the way. His September 28 remarks blamed the Democratic minority for using the issue as "a political tool"; the Democrats' own stated reasons for blocking the June package are quoted above, and this page does not judge between the two framings.

His "voted 5 times" line

On August 25, campaigning against Rep. Patrick Murphy, he posted: "I voted 5 times to fund the effort against Zika. Murphy voted 2 times AGAINST funding it." The thrust is supported: every recorded vote he cast on these bills was on the funding side. The number is not reproducible from this table: counted from the roll calls by that date, his Yes votes on the funding and the packages carrying it come to more than five, and the post does not say which five he meant. The Murphy half compares a House member's votes on different questions in a different chamber; checking it needs its own vote list and is not attempted here.

How much this proves

Strength: within this episode, very strong. The stated ideal ($1.9 billion), a direct vote on that exact ideal, a stated fallback, and a vote matching the fallback, all on the record and all within hours. That is a harder test than a single aligned vote, and he passed each step of it.

Watch out: anything inferred beyond the episode is weaker, moderate at best. Alignment on a pressing home-state issue (Zika was spreading in Florida) is the easiest kind to find; words and politics pointed the same way. It cannot tell you what he does when they pull apart.

What the roll calls cannot show

Whether the compromise votes reflect conviction or vote-counting.
Voice votes and unanimous-consent actions leave no individual record, so any Zika action taken that way is invisible to a roll-call check.

The full record

Every recorded vote in this episode

Date	Roll call	What was voted on	Connection	Rubio	Result
2016-05-17	73	Vote to end debate and move toward a final vote on Nelson Amendment 3898. Needed 60 votes.	Directly about the Zika money	Voted yes	Failed 50-47
2016-05-17	74	Vote to end debate and move toward a final vote on Cornyn Amendment 3899. Needed 60 votes.	Directly about the Zika money	Voted yes	Failed 52-45
2016-05-17	75	Vote to end debate and move toward a final vote on Blunt Amendment 3900. Needed 60 votes.	Directly about the Zika money	Voted yes	Passed 68-29
2016-05-19	76	Vote on whether to waive a Senate budget rule for H.R. 2577.	Directly about the Zika money	Voted yes	Passed 70-28
2016-05-19	77	Amendment to H.R. 2577: Zika response and preparedness.	Directly about the Zika money	Voted yes	Passed 68-30
2016-05-19	78	Vote to end debate and move toward a final vote on Amendment 3896 to H.R. 2577. Needed 60 votes.	Other matters on the same bills	Voted yes	Passed 88-10
2016-05-19	79	Vote on whether to waive a Senate budget rule for H.R. 2577.	Other matters on the same bills	Voted yes	Passed 84-14
2016-05-19	80	Amendment to H.R. 2577: To prohibit the use of funds to carry out a final rule and notice of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.	Other matters on the same bills	Voted yes	Passed 87-9
2016-05-19	81	Vote on whether to set aside an amendment to H.R. 2577: To prohibit the use of funds to carry out a rule and notice of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.	Other matters on the same bills	Voted no	Passed 60-37
2016-05-19	82	Final vote on H.R. 2577.	Directly about the Zika money	Voted yes	Passed 89-8
2016-06-08	92	Vote to end debate and move toward a final vote on H.R. 2577. Needed 60 votes.	Other matters on the same bills	Voted yes	Passed 93-2
2016-06-09	93	Vote on a Senate motion about H.R. 2577.	Directly about the Zika money	Voted yes	Failed 46-49
2016-06-09	94	Vote on a Senate motion about H.R. 2577.	Other matters on the same bills	Voted yes	Failed 56-38
2016-06-28	112	Vote to end debate and move toward a final vote on the Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 2577. Needed 60 votes.	Directly about the Zika money	Voted yes	Failed 52-48
2016-07-14	134	Vote to end debate and move toward a final vote on the Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 2577. Needed 60 votes.	Directly about the Zika money	Voted yes	Failed 52-44
2016-09-06	135	Vote to end debate and move toward a final vote on the Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 2577. Needed 60 votes.	Directly about the Zika money	Voted yes	Failed 52-46
2016-09-20	144	Vote to end debate on whether to begin considering H.R. 5325. Needed 60 votes.	Other matters on the same bills	Voted yes	Passed 89-7
2016-09-27	146	Vote to end debate and move toward a final vote on Amendment 5082. Needed 60 votes.	Directly about the Zika money	Voted yes	Failed 45-55
2016-09-27	147	Vote to end debate and move toward a final vote on H.R. 5325. Needed 60 votes.	Directly about the Zika money	Voted yes	Failed 40-59
2016-09-28	149	Vote to end debate and move toward a final vote on Amendment 5082. Needed 60 votes.	Directly about the Zika money	Voted yes	Passed 77-21
2016-09-28	150	Vote to end debate and move toward a final vote on H.R. 5325, Upon Reconsideration. Needed 60 votes.	Directly about the Zika money	Voted yes	Passed 77-21
2016-09-28	151	Final vote on H.R. 5325.	Directly about the Zika money	Voted yes	Passed 72-26

Roll calls 73, 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 92, 93, 94, 112, 134, 135, 144, 146, 147, 149, 150 needed 60 votes to end debate and move toward a final vote.

Sources

The records

Everything this page rests on. We keep a dated copy of each one.

How we check