Obama Warns About Ebola Security Threat
News outlets reported on the newest developments in the government's reaction to the outbreak.
Reuters: Obama: U.S. Must Fight Ebola Now Or Face Long-Term Risk
The United States needs to do more to help control West Africa's deadly Ebola outbreak to stop it becoming a global crisis that could one day threaten Americans, President Barack Obama said in an interview. Obama told NBC's "Meet the Press" that the outbreak, which has killed 2,100 people in African five countries, was unlikely to spread to the United States in the short term. But he added there could be implications if Washington and other powers did not send urgently needed equipment, public health workers and other supplies to the region (Rampton, 9/7).
The Associated Press: Obama Warns Ebola Virus Could Mutate If Outbreak Is Not Controlled
“What I’ve said, and I said this two months ago to our national security team, is we have to make this a national security priority,” Obama stated. “We have to mobilize the international community, get resources in there.” Obama doesn’t believe the outbreak will reach the U.S., but noted that the virus may not be controllable in West Africa for months (9/7).
Earlier --
The Associated Press: White House Asks For $30M For CDC's Ebola Efforts
The White House on Friday sent Congress a request for $30 million to pay for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's efforts to help contain the Ebola outbreak in western Africa. The administration wants the money added to a spending bill to keep government agencies running until mid-December and comes on top of $58 million it requested above current levels to speed the production of promising drugs to fight the deadly disease (Taylor, 9/5).
Politico: White House Requests Ebola Funds
Currently CDC has an estimated 100 personnel in West Africa, including epidemiologists and intelligence officers tracking the disease. That number is expected to grow to at least 150 in the next few weeks. The additional money would also go to support staff who help coordinate the response effort across the CDC Emergency Operations Center, according to supporting budget documents. But all $30 million could be consumed in just the first three months of the new fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 (Rogers, 9/5).