Stopping the Spread of Ebola

The Ebola epidemic is an ongoing tragedy with serious worldwide consequences. With the virus now in the United States, Americans naturally are concerned about what steps are being taken to prevent the further spread of this disease and to prepare for more cases. Unfortunately, our government’s response has not always inspired confidence this threat is being handled appropriately.

The rate at which the Ebola virus has spread throughout West Africa is alarming. So far the administration's response has been to deploy troops to the region, but leave our borders unprotected from the disease except for minimal airport screening. For this reason I joined 25 of my colleagues on October 8th in sending a bipartisan letter to President Obama urging him to institute travel restrictions, enhance airport screening, and to consider quarantining individuals who have recently traveled to or from the West African countries most affected by this epidemic.

Many Nebraskans have reached out to me to express their support for a travel ban. I agree for the time being it is not appropriate for our government to issue tourist visas to individuals from nations being ravaged by Ebola. Even several African countries have successfully implemented travel bans. This is a commonsense measure to reduce the risk of more individuals bringing the virus into our country.

However, the Obama Administration continues to issue approximately 100 tourist visas per day to individuals from affected nations to visit the United States, saying to do otherwise would hurt efforts to fight the virus at the source. However, I have yet to hear a compelling argument as to why allowing foreign nationals from these nations to visit the United States would have any effect on our ability to fight Ebola in Africa.

American hospitals, doctors, and medical personnel have proven highly effective in treating the disease at specialized containment facilities including at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. The Centers for Disease Control assured a Congressional panel earlier this year all American hospitals were equipped and ready to handle Ebola cases. However, the contraction of Ebola by two nurses treating a patient in Dallas raises serious questions about the preparedness of other hospitals to contain and treat the disease.

These questions become even more concerning since the Administration announced it would be sending American troops over to the effected region to combat the disease’s spread. It is critical all hospitals, treatment facilities, and our armed forces have access to the protocols and practices being used effectively at the containment sites so other medical workers, patients, and the general public, are not further exposed.

Ebola is a public health crisis, not a political crisis. While there have only been a handful of cases in the United States and there is no reason for panic, it is critical our government get this right and we stop the spread of this devastating disease. Greater safeguards on our immigration system, and better preparedness at our hospitals will help keep us safe.