GOP senators: US needs to contain Ebola epidemic

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said the threat of an Ebola outbreak in the U.S. is just as dangerous as an attack by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

“We should treat the Ebola epidemic as seriously as we treat ISIS,” Alexander said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “There is no vaccine and there is no cure.” 

{mosads}Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) joined Alexander in voicing his concerns about the virus that has killed more than 2,000 people in the past few weeks.

McConnell said he supports the Obama administration’s efforts to help West African countries contain the epidemic.

“Today, President Obama will visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to announce new efforts to contain the Ebola epidemic in West Africa,” McConnell said. “I support these efforts to contain the Ebola epidemic, and know that we will monitor this humanitarian crisis in the weeks ahead.”

The administration is expected to send U.S. military support to Liberia to coordinate relief efforts and train healthcare workers.