On the heels of the first Ebola diagnosis in the U.S., Rep. Ted Poe has joined the chorus from members Congress calling for U.S. travel restrictions to West Africa.
"We can do that, it's legal and we need some common sense here," the Texas Republican said on Friday on "American's Forum" on
Newsmax TV.
"The president can do that to prevent air travel into those countries. The overall decision is no individuals from those nations travel into the U.S until this disease is resolved. The president could require the FAA and the air travel folks to make some adjustments to their travel to those countries as well."
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A Liberian man visiting family in Dallas has been diagnosed with the deadly Ebola virus, sending the city, and the country, into a panic about how quickly the
disease can spread.
"People in the Dallas area in Texas are concerned in making sure that this disease does not spread,"
Poe explained.
Poe is the latest lawmaker to demand action amid concern of Ebola spreading wildly through the United States as in has in West Africa.
Democrats and Republicans are urging colleagues to be prepared to come back to Capitol Hill before Election Day to
give emergency funds to the CDC.
"If the CDC, or any public health system, needs more resources, Congress should immediately come back to Washington and vote to provide those funds before the November election," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-N.Y.).
Appearing on Newsmax TV on Thursday, U.S. Rep Renee Ellmers said the U.S. should impose travel restriction amid the Ebola crisis.
"We need to put some initiatives in place so that those who are traveling from some of these countries where we know that there's already been outbreaks are addressed appropriately," Ellmers told MidPoint host Ed Berliner.
Texas Sen.
Ted Cruz has attacked the Obama administration for its "unclear" handling of the Ebola crisis and has urged the Federal Aviation Administration to take measures to prevent more infected victims entering the United States.
"Given the severity of this virus and the fact that its spread to Texas has been associated with travel, it is imperative that the FAA take every precaution in preventing additional cases from arriving in the U.S.," he wrote to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta,
according to Politico.
The CDC has done an "OK" job handling the crisis, but the information they release is often contradictory, according to Poe.
"First, this was an isolated incident and the person hadn't come in contact with anyone else," he said. "Then, we're finding out that's just not correct. The CDC needs to be forthright in telling the American public exactly what is occurring, not to be alarmist, but just to tell us what's taken place so citizens have the right to know how this disease is affecting the U.S."
In his letter to CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden, Poe writes that "the health and safety of the American population should always be the primary consideration in situations like this."
Poe also weighed in on Obama's remarks yesterday in which the president promised to act on immigration reform after the midterms but before the end of the year. The president, he said, is motivated by vote-pandering.
"I've always thought the president's actions are political and not based upon humanitarian or what's best for the country or right or wrong," he said. "When it comes to amnesty, it's a political decision as well."
He predicts Obama will implement a "piecemeal" waving of immigration and deportation laws, perhaps instructing the Justice Department not to deport illegal immigrants arrested for minor crimes, something Poe said is in violation of U.S. law.
Congress will not idly sit back and allow the president to overstep his authority, he warned.
"The executive branch is to enforce the laws that are made by Congress," Poe said. "Congress has not changed the laws to suit the president. In his righteous indignation, he says he'll go it alone, he'll write the laws and he'll change the laws of this country because he's the president of the U.S., in violation of the constitution. I suspect he'll do that after the election and will go as far as he thinks he can go with pandering to the Hispanic caucus.
"Congress still has to deal with the issue of immigration and border security. It's not the president's right to go ahead and make up his own rules or change the rules."