Ebola Outbreak 2014 Update: Obama Requests $6.2B to Develop Cure, Vaccine and More, But Will Republicans Approve?
President Barack Obama made a request to Congress for $6.2 billion in emergency funds to combat Ebola at its West African source and to secure the United States against any possible spread, according to The Associated Press.
Administration officials say $2.1 billion of the summation would be apportioned to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and $2.4 billion would go to the Department of Health and Human Services to accelerate the progress and analysis of vaccines and other therapies.
According to ABC News, over $1.5 billion would be for a contingency fund to deal with any unforeseen developments.
An additional $112 million would be allocated for the Pentagon's research agency to develop a vaccine for temporary immunity to Ebola.
Additional funds would go to other foreign countries so they can confront the Ebola to fight flare-ups and vaccinate U.S. health care workers.
However, as Huffington Post notes, the request couldn't have come at worse time, as funding for the Ebola outbreak is "the first request from Obama in the aftermath of an election that ushered in a Republican-controlled Congress, which is being seen as a repudiation of the president."
Republicans have analyzed the administration's domestic response to Ebola and has condemned both its "coordination with states" and imprecise security measures.
According to Bloomberg, as of Oct. 24, the budget office said the U.S. has obligated more than $400 million to fight Ebola.
"The Appropriations Committee will review the request," Kevin Smith, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner's office, said, according to The Washington Post. "We'll continue to work with our members and the administration to ensure we are doing everything we can to protect the public from a deadly disease."
During a news conference aimed at the midterm elections, President Obama briefly discussed the Ebola outbreak while fielding questions.
"We're seeing real progress in fighting the disease in a country that just a month or a month-and-a-half ago was desperate and had no hope," the president said.
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