Dem senator slams ‘unconscionable’ Ebola funding delay

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday blasted lawmakers holding up an Obama administration request to shift $1 billion in Pentagon funds toward the response to Ebola. 

“Right now, that request is tied up in the legislative process, which is unconscionable as far as I’m concerned,” Murphy said on MSNBC’s “The Daily Rundown.”

{mosads}Most of the funding is still tied up in congressional committees with members saying they have questions they want the administration to answer first. Appropriators have so far approved only $50 million.

Murphy said many of the questions are “legitimate,” but he suggested it doesn’t make sense that Congress asked fewer questions before the U.S. invaded Afghanistan and spent about $10 billion a year on the effort.

“We seem to have a different level of inspection when it comes to questions being asked about money that’s going to protect the United States from a very real and very present threat of Ebola,” he said. “I really can’t understand what the skepticism is.”

The Connecticut Democrat called for the relevant committees to “release that money” this week.

“This is where we can make a difference by standing up public health infrastructure in West Africa not only to help them, but to prevent this disease from spreading in the United States,” he said.

Last week, leaders on the House Appropriations Committee requested additional details about the administration’s response plan for Ebola to inform their funding decisions.

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) on Wednesday called on the Senate Armed Services and Appropriations committees to block any additional funding until lawmakers are presented with a concrete strategy from the White House to prevent the spread of the deadly disease.