Congressman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) issued the following statement today calling for an immediate review of travel protocols to combat the Ebola crisis after her visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, GA. While at the CDC Blackburn met with Director Dr. Tom Frieden and was briefed by subject matter experts on what is being done to protect Americans from the current Ebola crisis.

“Today I traveled to the Centers for Disease control in Atlanta and met with Director Tom Frieden. Despite assurances that there is no risk of an Ebola outbreak occurring in the U.S., I remain very concerned. President Obama traveled to the CDC on September 16th and declared that Ebola was “unlikely” to come to America. Two weeks later, the first ever case of this deadly disease was diagnosed on American soil in Dallas as a result of a Liberian national falsifying travel documents in order to come to the United States after knowingly being exposed to Ebola.

“Dr. Frieden stated today that restricting travel between Ebola afflicted countries and the U.S. would “backfire.” Unfortunately, his comments simply do not reflect the gravity of the situation. More must be done.

“It's clear that reviewing the current travel protocols needs to be part of the discussion. Nothing should be ruled out as we work together to contain this outbreak and protect public health and safety at home and abroad. This is a matter of great public importance. It is time for the Administration to take decisive action to protect the American people and ensure we are secure from infectious disease.”