Washington, D.C. - Congressman Ribble sent a letter today to House Speaker John Boehner requesting an emergency Congressional session to deal with the ongoing Ebloa crisis. Rep. Ribble's letter asks the House to consider all options to curtail the growth of the outbreak, including imposing a travel ban to affected regions in West Africa and authorizing additional military and humanitarian aid to the region.

"In the past few weeks, the Ebola situation has only grown more dire. West Africa has seen exponential growth in Ebola infection rates and the Obama Administration has stated that the faster we act in the region the better the chance to contain the disease. The earlier Congress returns to Washington D.C., the earlier we can aid in accomplishing that goal," Congressman Ribble stated.

Below are excerpts from Congressman Ribble's letter to the Speaker:

"The present and growing threat of Ebola is one that, if left unchecked, could inflict lasting and severe harm on not only the United States but upon all nations.  More must be done and be done quickly to address this crisis both domestically and internationally, and I urge you to call the U.S. House of Representatives back to Washington for an emergency session to address this issue."

"Congress needs to act immediately on a bill to ban commercial travel and restrict entry to or from the affected areas and the United States.  But we should also authorize and fund increased military or government-provided transportation to ensure workers, equipment and resources can reach the afflicted nations and regions while the commercial travel ban is in place. We must also increase the amount of aid going to West Africa so we can avoid a legacy where Ebola lingers for years and becomes a new normal in our world.  We have a window to avoid this fate but it is limited and closing quickly.  We must act."

A copy of the full letter can be seen here.

###