Ed. Note: The following excerpts are from an op-ed for Fox News written by Senator William "Bill" H. Frist, M.D., an American physician, businessman, and former Republican Senator from Tennessee who served as the Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate. You can read the full op-ed here.
When crisis strikes, the world looks to the United States for leadership. And that holds true for public health emergencies.
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That is why it is critically important for the United States to remain on offense. To this end, the Obama administration last week requested $6.2 billion in emergency funding from Congress for the Ebola response.
This request supports what we know we must do to counter this disease: tackle it on the front lines, fortify our domestic health infrastructure, pursue vaccines and therapeutics and improve our capacity for rapid diagnostic testing, among other key steps.
Some of these funds would be spent at home, while part would go toward the international response. But to be clear, every single dollar would help protect the American people from this threat, which must remain the priority.
