The Hill - Cassidy Criticizes "Lack of Leadership' on Ebola

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By Ben Kamisar

Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who is in the middle of a tight race to unseat Sen. Mary Landrieu (D), bashed the White House for being "reactive" to the Ebola crisis during a call with reporters Thursday afternoon.

"Clearly the president and CDC Director [Tom] Frieden have attempted to downplay the risk of Ebola to the United States. And as we know, the virus has made its way to Texas," he said.

"These developments raise significant questions about the administration's ability to effectively respond."

Cassidy also responded to charges that the government's response has been hampered by budget cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health organizations by placing the blame squarely on President Obama.
"It doesn't take CDC funding to institute a travel ban," he said. "I don't think there's a lack of resources, I think there's a lack of leadership."

He also took the chance to hit Landrieu when a reporter asked how Ebola was playing on the campaign trail.

"If it is impacting our political race, it is because it seems to be part of a broader narrative that the administration lacks leadership," he said. "The senator that I am running against frankly enables the administration and is part of their lack of leadership."

Rep. Tim Murphy, the Pennsylvania Republican who led Thursday's House hearing on the administration's response to the Ebola virus, joined Cassidy on the call. He outlined a plan to stop the spread of the virus that includes a travel ban on three West African countries.

He said that the House hearing underscored the fact that the administration's current policy isn't working.

"The protocol depends on people being honest on whether or not they've been to Africa or were exposed to someone with Ebola," he said. "We've already seen that that doesn't work," he added, referring to the Liberian man who came to the United States and became the first to be diagnosed with the virus.

On top of a travel ban, Murphy released an email to reporters that called for a slew of other measures on Ebola, including:

-a 21-day mandatory quarantine for any American who travels back from an Ebola-stricken country or treats an Ebola patient;

-increased training for hospital and healthcare workers on how to protect themselves from Ebola;

-expanding the number of hospitals that are properly equipped to treat Ebola patients;

-addressing federal policies that could hamper "aggressive and immediate action" by federal health groups;

-speeding up efforts to release an Ebola vaccine;

-purchasing planes and vehicles to be specifically used to carry Americans who were exposed to Ebola overseas;

-bolstering contact tracing and testing;

-and keeping Congress informed about what resources are needed to bolster the fight.

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