President Obama's Ebola $6.2 billion emergency fund is currently being scrutinized by many, given the large figure he is asking for in exchange of the alleged security of the United States from a possible outbreak.
Just this Wednesday, the Obama Ebola $6.2 billion story circulated both in print and in online publications after the U.S. President himself asked the Congress for the large sum of money in emergency funds so as to allegedly give a solution to the possible Ebola outbreak in the United States, ABC News has learned.
"My foremost priority is to protect the health and safety of Americans, and this request supports all necessary steps to fortify our domestic health system and prevent any outbreaks at home," Obama said in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. Boehner's office.
According to Obama, the best way to secure the country from the threat of an outbreak is by confronting the spread of Ebola virus's source, which is West Africa.
As per a statement from the White House, Obama's Ebola $6.2 billion emergency fund will be divided to the United States Agency for International Development, Department of Health and Human Services and as a contingency fund for any "unanticipated developments" in West Africa or as a vaccine fund for U.S. health care workers.
While the United States Agency for International Development is expected to receive $2 billion, the Department of Health and Human Services will get $2.4 billion. On the other hand, $1.5 billion will be allotted as contingency fund.
Obama's request for a $6.2 billion emergency fund is his first ever monetary request in the wake of the sporadic cases of Ebola infection in the U.S.
It is also his first request in the aftermath of an "election that ushered in a Republican-controlled Congress.
By fat, the issue on a possible Ebola outbreak has received bipartisan attention from the U.S. government.
Now that President Obama has stimulated a bold move to contain the spread of the virus, the White House is seeking for prompt action from the Congress while Democrats are still in control of the Senate.
Meanwhile, Republicans have been nothing but critical about the administration's response to the impending Ebola outbreak, criticizing and questioning the measures the admin has imposed thus far.
Nevertheless, the U.S. is expected to really benefit from Obama's Ebola $6.2 billion emergency fund since the public health systems will get a boost, as in the funding of 50 Ebola treatment centers, reports Bloomberg.
Additionally, apart from the U.S., it is not only West Africa that would benefit from this emergency fund as other "vulnerable countries" are also expected to receive help in containing and mitigating the spread of the virus.
"In all this work, we must ensure other countries and international organizations continue to share this responsibility and that we coordinate our efforts effectively," U.S. Representative Anita Lowey of New York, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement.
As of late, the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea has infected over 13,000 people and killed more than 5,000, according to the latest update from the World Health Organization.
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