Demand Federal Plans To Contain Possible Pandemic

To help contain the current outbreak of the Ebola virus, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) (pictured, right) and Senate Commerce, Science and Senate Transportation Committee Ranking Member John Thune (R-SD) (left) have called for a temporary travel ban from affected West African countries. Additionally, Shuster and Thune have asked the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security to provide an accounting of their plans to help protect the public from the transmission of the Ebola virus or any other infectious disease via the nation’s transportation network.

In their October 14th letter to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Shuster and Thune point out that our national and international transportation networks are vital to the function of our economy and the American way of life, but that the recent events in Texas have tragically shown these same networks can also serve as conduits for dangerous pathogens such as the Ebola virus.
 
“With Ebola spreading even within the hospital setting, we should not delay in taking additional measures to prevent individuals carrying the virus from traveling to the U.S. We believe a temporary travel ban for such individuals who live in or have traveled from certain West African countries is reasonable and timely,” said Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member Thune. “Additionally, we sent a letter yesterday to Secretaries Foxx and Johnson requesting detailed information about their plans and protocols to prevent further transmission of Ebola and other infectious diseases within the U.S., especially given our interconnected transportation network. It is the job of the Congressional oversight committees to ensure that the administration is doing everything it can to address such threats.”
 
Shuster and Thune’s request to the Departments yesterday states, “While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains that the risk of an Ebola outbreak in the United States is remote, we are concerned that even a relatively limited number of cases within the United States could result in harmful disruptions to our economy and society. As such, we believe it is important that we thoroughly and dispassionately assess the Federal Government’s readiness to prevent or mitigate the harms associated with pandemics.”

The letter requests the following information:

• A full accounting of your Departments’ efforts to date to prevent the further introduction of the Ebola virus into the United States from West African “hot spots” and any other regions from which the virus might enter the United States.
• A description of your Departments’ efforts to coordinate Ebola screening processes at key international transit points between the United States and West Africa with counterpart agencies in other nations.
• A description of contingency plans your respective Departments have developed to prevent transmission of the Ebola virus or other infectious pathogens within the United States.
• A description of your efforts with transportation companies and their employees to detect and prevent the spread of infectious diseases including the Ebola virus.
• A description of contingency plans developed to combat infectious diseases more easily transmissible than Ebola virus, such as airborne pathogens.

The FAA said in a statement posted on its website that decisions about flight restrictions in response to an international public health emergency would be an interagency decision. The health and welfare of flight crews, airline workers and the traveling public is a priority of the FAA. The agency says it will work closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as other federal government partners on issues of public health and on communicable disease awareness, when appropriate.

FMI: http://transportation.house.gov, www.commerce.senate.gov, www.faa.gov