The Zika virus has been grabbing headlines for a few months, more so now that cases have been reported here in Florida. One of the battles against the virus-carrying mosquitos, though, is taking place in the political world. Funding has been called into question, both at the state and national level.
Recently, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) from South Florida noted that Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has actually cut a lot of funding that could have gone into the fight against Zika. During a recent town hall meeting, Wasserman Schultz said this about Gov. Scott:
"While he seems to be saying out loud that he wants Congress and the president to provide more funding, he conveniently leaves out that he cut nearly $1 million dollars from mosquito control and closed down the state’s mosquito research lab a few years ago."
Our partners at Politifact Florida decided so see if Wasserman Schultz was correct in her assessment. PolitiFact reporter Joshua Gillin said that Wasserman Schultz's claim rates MOSTLY FALSE on the Truth-O-Meter. Gillin said that the South Florida representative is conveniently ignoring the overall funding trends of the last several years.
"There are actually a few different ways to look at this," said Gillin. "First, if you look at early 2011, when Governor Rick Scott took office, you'll see that he did cut funding for mosquito control by about $1.3 million. The next year, he cut $300,000 of the same funding, and keep in mind, this was during the height of the economic downturn."
If Governor Scott did make that $1.3 million cut, then why the rating? Gillin said that the cuts were a snapshot in time.
"Those cuts were early in the Scott administration," said Gillin. "As the state climbed out of the recession, that funding came back, so much so that it's been at a comparable level for a while now."
Gillin also mentioned the research lab in question. "Rep. Wasserman Schultz was talking about a research lab that was in Panama City," said Gillin. "They did do some mosquito research, and Gov. Scott had actually vetoed a $500,000 grant to that facility, but the problem here is that Florida A&M, which ran that facility, had already slated for it to be closed. The closure wasn't Gov. Scott's decision; it was the decision of the school, and furthermore, the funding that had been going to that Florida A&M research facility has since been reallocated to the University of Florida's research facility in Vero Beach."
Because Wasserman Schultz took a snapshot in time of budget items and decisions that don't reflect the long-term situation, PolitiFact rates her claim MOSTLY FALSE on the Truth-O-Meter.
SOURCES: Mosquito research funding
- PolitiFact ruling
- Florida Fiscal Portal, 2010-2016
- Gov. Rick Scott, Veto list, 2011
- Florida Mosquito Control Association, BuzzWords, July/August 2011
- Florida TaxWatch, Turkey list, 2011
- University of Florida, Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, Accessed Aug. 9, 2016
- Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, "Florida's Future is at Stake: The Status of the Florida Mosquito Control Research Program," July/August 2011
- Tampa Tribune, "Lawmakers spare pet university projects," May 17, 2011
- Herald Tribune, "Gov. Scott cuts funding for Bay's mosquito research center," (Accessed in Nexis) May 28, 2011
- Tallahassee Democrat, "FAMU researchers hit by budget cuts," (Accessed in Nexis) July 21, 2009
- Tallahassee Democrat, "FAMU may close mosquito center," (Accessed in Nexis) July 16, 2010
- Politico, "Scott bashes feds over Zika funding, but slashed mosquito control money," Aug. 5, 2016
- Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times, "For Gov. Rick Scott, Zika proves a hurricane-like test," Aug. 7, 2016
- PolitiFact Florida, "Surprise! Faced with Zika, South Florida fosters a mess of mosquitoes," Aug. 5, 2016
- Miami Herald Naked Politics blog, "Debbie Wasserman Schultz bashes Rick Scott, Paul Ryan at Zika town hall," Aug. 8, 2016
- Interview, Michael Liquerman, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz spokesman, Aug. 8, 2016
- Interview, Jackie Schutz, Gov. Rick Scott spokeswoman, Aug. 8, 2016
- Interview Walter J. Tabachnick, Professor, Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory Department of Entomology and Nematology University of Florida, Aug. 9, 2016
- Interview, Shelly Redovan, Florida Mosquito Control Association executive director, Aug. 9, 2016