Gardner, Energy and Commerce Committee Look for Answers on Ebola Response Efforts

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Cory Gardner (CO-04) and 27 members of the House Energy and Commerce committee sent a letter to President Obama, Ebola Response Coordinator Ron Klain, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson requesting further information on the Administration’s efforts to prevent the spread of Ebola to the United States. 

This letter comes after last week’s Energy and Commerce oversight hearing to investigate the Administration’s actions in protecting the public health and safety of the American people. 

The letter reads, in part:

To advance the common goal of treating those who are sickened by Ebola and stopping the spread of this deadly virus as quickly as possible, we offer the following recommended actions and requests for information regarding key issues related to the Ebola response. 

First, we share the interest of the American people in using the most effective tools – including travel restrictions – to prevent additional Ebola infections here in the U.S., and we encourage you to examine all such options as quickly as possible. So that we may better understand the facts and analysis underlying your current position, please advise whether the White House has any analysis or modeling relating to the claim that restricting travel of foreign-national tourists from the Ebola-affected countries would increase the risk of importation of Ebola cases into the U.S. If so, please provide this information and/or explain how the White House is coordinating the collection of such information.

Second, we believe improved diagnostic testing to identify infected patients is essential to stopping the spread of Ebola at its source and preventing additional cases from being imported into the U.S. and other countries around the world, and we encourage a coordinated effort by the administration to expedite the development of such diagnostics. Please share all available information regarding how the White House is coordinating efforts within the Executive Branch related to diagnostic testing (including rapid tests) for Ebola, what process is or will be used to assess the information that is gathered, and what process will be used to help expedite deployment of rapid diagnostic testing for Ebola.

Third, we believe it is essential to assess the capacity of the U.S. public health and health care systems to handle the expected number of Ebola patients to be treated in the U.S., and should that capacity prove insufficient, take any necessary steps immediately to increase our ability to respond to cases here at home. We request any information, analysis, or modeling of how many actual Ebola cases can be expected to be imported into the U.S. over the next six months and/or how the White House is coordinating the collection of such information. We also request any information about the capacity of the U.S. public health system (including the state and local public health agencies) and health care facilities to handle Ebola cases in the U.S., including cases involving U.S. medical and military personnel brought over from West Africa. With respect to U.S. medical and military personnel, we are also interested in the capacity of U.S. agencies and/or contractors for their transport. This request includes information on how the White House is coordinating the collection of such information.

To read the letter in its entirety, please click here.

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