China-made detection reagent of Ebola virus made by Shenzhen Puruikang Biotechnology Co., Ltd. is seen on August 26, 2014 in Shenzhen, Guangdong province of China.

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House Republicans slash request to combat Ebola

09/10/14 08:35 AM

By Steve Benen

Just yesterday, a World Health Organization doctor arrived infected with Ebola virus in Atlanta for treatment. He or she – the physician has not yet been named – is the fourth Ebola patient to arrive in the United States for care.

 

It’s against this backdrop that President Obama requested $88 million from Congress to combat the Ebola outbreak, which is currently the worst on record. As Joanna Rothkopf reported, the White House request is only part of a global effort – the United Nations estimates that $600 million is needed to fully address the crisis, compensate for equipment shortages, and properly dispose of the dead.

 

House Republicans have considered Obama’s request. Apparently, they don’t like it – The Hill reports that GOP lawmakers intend to provide less than half of the resources requested by the administration.

According to a source familiar with the negotiations, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) agreed as of Tuesday morning to spend a total of $40 million to fight the epidemic in the 2015 spending bill.

 

This would include $25 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and $15 million for the Biological Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to ramp up production of an experimental anti-Ebola drug, the source said.

Here’s what I really want to know: did congressional Republicans scrutinize the details of the proposal and uncover ways to achieve the same public-health goals with less money? Or did the GOP lawmakers see the administration’s recommendation, conclude that it “sounds like a lot,” and arbitrarily pick a smaller number?

 

We’ll probably never know for sure, though given the post-policy tendencies of congressional Republicans, I have my suspicions.

 

GOP plans will come into sharper focus tomorrow when the House is expected to vote on a stopgap spending to keep the federal government running until mid-December. The resources to combat the Ebola outbreak will be part of the spending package.