WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate Floor regarding U.S. efforts to contain the Ebola epidemic:

“Today, President Obama will visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to announce new efforts to contain the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. The U.S. Africa Command will stand up a Joint Force Command in Monrovia, Liberia to provide command and control of U.S. military activities and help coordinate international relief efforts. Current estimates are that 3,000 military personnel will establish an intermediate staging base for supplies and equipment, set up a training site to prepare 500 health care workers per week to provide medical care to patients, and stand up a field Defense Department hospital to care for any of our healthcare workers who become ill.

“Also contributing to our national reaction to this epidemic are the U.S. Agency for International Development. The CDC has deployed personnel to Africa, and the National Institute of Health is developing an investigational Ebola vaccine. CDC is also working with the Customs and Border patrol to identify travelers showing any signs of infectious disease.

“I support these efforts to contain the Ebola epidemic, and know that we will monitor this humanitarian crisis in the weeks ahead.”