Sen. Nelson: U.S. Needs Take-Charge Person To Handle Ebola Crisis
U.S. Sen. Bill
Nelson (D-FL) says that the latest developments involving
health care workers in Dallas show the need for a more coordinated and
better-managed response here at home.
The U.S. needs one
take-charge person in place to oversee the containment of and response
to the threat of this serious infectious disease, Nelson's office stated in a release.
“If there’s a will,
there’s a way,” Nelson said today during a press conference in Orlando. “This person should be at
least temporarily based in a White House war room with direct authority
from the president - someone like former
Surgeon General Richard Carmona, who has the requisite medical
background and who served in that position under former president George
W. Bush.”
Finding that someone should be a priority, Nelson said.
In calling for such,
Nelson is joining with a few of his colleagues in the Senate including
Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, who wants what he refers to as an
Ebola czar.
Nelson was among the first elected officials to call for a travel ban on people
coming into the U.S. from Ebola-affected regions.
Nelson represents Florida which is highly dependent on travel and tourism - two industries that are being hard hit by the Ebola crisis.
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