GOP lawmakers: Use civil planes for Ebola relief after travel ban

The top ranking Republicans on the House and Senate committees that oversee transportation issues said Thursday that President Obama could use civil reserve airplanes to deliver relief supplies to West Africa if he implemented an Ebola travel ban. 

The Obama administration has resisted calls from lawmakers for a ban on travel between the U.S. and countries in West Africa that have been battling Ebola following the first domestic diagnoses of the deadly virus earlier this month. 

Citing health officials, the administration has argued that a travel ban would complicate Ebola relief efforts because it would make it harder for the U.S. to deliver supplies to the region of Africa where the disease is most prevalent. 

{mosads}House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and Sen. John Thune, who is the ranking Republican on the Senate’s Transportation panel, said Thursday that the Obama administration could tap airplanes from the  Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) that is operated by the departments of Defense and Transportation to make deliveries to West Africa if flights to the region are canceled. 

“CRAF carriers could replace, or even expand, payload capacity that has exited the market as foreign commercial airlines have reduced services to the region since the beginning of the crisis,” Shuster and Thune wrote. “The utilization of CRAF carriers would also be entirely consistent with your decision to deploy U.S. military personnel to West Africa, as the containment of Ebola and the humanitarian crisis are together a top national security priority.” 

Despite the resistance from the administration and health officials, approximately 90 lawmakers have said publicly that they support an Ebola travel ban, according to a tally that has been compiled by The Hill.

The White House has argued that a travel ban would make it more likely for passengers to lie about visits to parts of West Africa where they are likely to have been exposed to Ebola.

Administration officials have also pointed out that most travelers from West Africa, including the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the U.S., Thomas Eric Duncan, have to pass through European airports to reach the U.S. because there are few direct flights from the region to the U.S. 

Shuster and Thune said Obama should still ban travel between West Africa and the U.S. to help prevent the further spread of the Ebola virus in the U.S. 

“As this crisis continues, it is imperative that all measures to protect Americans from further exposure to the disease be fully considered,” the lawmakers wrote. “At the same time, all available means to increase the level of aid to West Africa without unduly increasing the American public’s risk of exposure should be vigorously pursued.”

The Obama administration has only been willing to restrict travel from West Africa to airports in New York, New Jersey, Washington, Chicago and Atlanta that have been set up for enhanced Ebola screening thus far, despite the congressional pressure.