GOP rep: Travel ban won’t making passengers lying more likely

The chairman of the House Oversight subcommittee said Friday that a ban on flights to African countries that are battling Ebola will not make it any more likely for passengers to lie about their travel histories. 

President Obama said on Thursday that he was resisting mounting pressure to institute a travel ban because it would encourage people to hide their travel to countries that have high rates of Ebola, which he said would make it more difficult to prevent the disease from spreading further in the U.S. 

Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) said in an interview on CNN Friday that he disagreed with the president’s analysis, pointing out that the first person to be diagnosed with the Ebola in the U.S. had already been dishonest about his travel history. 

{mosads}“I don’t agree with the issue of travel restrictions would cause people to necessarily go underground because that’s saying people would be deceptive,” he said. “And the issue is right now I think we’re prone to people being deceptive, perhaps being deceptive to get into this country.” 

Murphy is one of more than 70 lawmakers who have gone on record saying they support an Ebola travel ban, according to a whip count that has been compiled by The Hill. 

The Obama administration has resisted calls for the proposed ban, pointing instead to increased screening for Ebola symptoms that has been put in place at five major U.S. airports. 

The administration says the enhanced Ebola screenings will capture 94 percent of the passengers that enter the U.S. from West Africa because they have to connect flights at the one of the international airports in New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Washington and Atlanta. 

Murphy said Friday that he had little confidence in the increased Ebola screenings at select domestic airports. 

“I don’t think the screening taking place right now is going to work on all levels,” he said. “Someone could take an analgesic or something for their temperature for a while … and change the threshold body temperature that will be significant.” 

Murphy pointed that out the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola domestically last month, Thomas Eric Duncan, had a temperature lower than the threshold that officials will be checking for during their enhanced airport screenings for the disease. 

“Mr. Duncan’s temperature was below that line, as was the nurse,” he said in reference to a threshold of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit has been set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a potential red flag for Ebola. 

“So I still think with regard to quarantines, restricting travel for people who have been exposed to someone with Ebola, I didn’t hear the CDC being willing to move on that,” Murphy continued. “Governors are in states where now people are traveling to. But I would love it if the CDC would do more of those important steps.”