See —
Ebola crisis: Obama administration to ask Congress for $1 billion to fight outbreak, sources say
Published September 15, 2014 FoxNews.com
“The Obama administration plans to ask Congress to approve $1 billion to fight Ebola, sources say, as the U.S. military command in Africa makes countering the deadly disease its highest priority.
The increased funding would result in the deployment of approximately 3,000 U.S. military personnel, the creation of a joint task force commanded by a three-star officer, military provision of logistics and mobility support, three field medical facilities and a training program for health care workers, a source told Fox News on Monday.
The support is estimated to last at least six months and cost upwards of $1 billion dollars, with estimated daily costs of at least $5.4 million a day.
The request would not be in addition to money that’s already been approved, but rather, re-appropriating existing funding.
The fight against Ebola is considered, in part, a national security issue because the disease threatens fragile governments in Africa and could lead to more safe havens for terrorists. The request falls under the jurisdiction of the Pentagon because the military has the capacity to set up quarantine camps.
Sources told Fox News on Monday that the request is expected to be discussed Tuesday at the Senate Armed Serviecs Committee hearing with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey. But the sources said they believe the requested amount is a lot to reprogram.”
>snip<
Weeks late and 1,000 beds short —
Obama to Announce Expanded Effort Against Ebola
By HELENE COOPER and MICHAEL D. SHEARSEPT. 15, 2014
“WASHINGTON — Under pressure to do more to confront the Ebola outbreak sweeping across West Africa, President Obama on Tuesday is to announce an expansion of military and medical resources to combat the spread of the deadly virus, administration officials said.
The president will go beyond the 25-bed portable hospital that Pentagon officials said they would establish in Liberia, one of the three West African countries ravaged by the disease, officials said. Mr. Obama is expected to offer help to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia in the construction of five Ebola treatment centers around Monrovia, with about 500 beds.
In addition, Mr. Obama is expected to announce that he is appointing a woman as an Ebola czar to coordinate the American response, along with an increase in the number of doctors and other health care workers being sent to West Africa. The military is likely to provide medical supplies and training for African health care workers as they seek to contain the virus.
The Obama administration is also planning to send hundreds of thousands of Ebola home health and treatment kits to Liberia, as well as tens of thousands of kits designed to test whether people have the disease. The Pentagon will provide some logistical equipment for health workers going to West Africa and what administration officials described as “command and control” organizational assistance on how to coordinate the overall relief effort. The Army Corps of Engineers is expected to be part of the Defense Department effort.
But the administration’s new efforts still appear to fall short of the 1,000 beds that Liberian officials and international aid groups say are needed in the next week alone to contain a disease that has been spreading exponentially.”
>snip<