Congressman Don Bacon (NE-02) and Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (NE-01) released a statement following their ‘yea’ vote and successful advocacy to remove Ebola funding cuts from the rescissions package:

“I worked to ensure life-saving Ebola funding was not cut as part of this rescissions package, enabling me to now vote to rescind nearly $15 billion in wasteful spending. These are necessary cuts to ensure we do not burden our children and grandchildren with massive national debt,” said Rep. Bacon. “Originally, $252 million of emergency Ebola response funding was slated to be defunded, which would have jeopardized the lives of those who so desperately need access to Ebola treatment. The University of Nebraska Medical Center, located in Omaha, is a global leader in Ebola treatment, research, and development and these proposed cuts would have hindered the ability for our nation to adequately treat and respond to an Ebola outbreak here or abroad. Funding cuts to treatment for patients with Ebola, especially in Africa, would eventually impact the work of our men and women at UNMC, with Ebola victims traveling to Omaha to receive assistance and treatment from our medical facility." 

“Our university does essential health and national security work,” said Rep. Fortenberry. “I wanted to make sure that the hard decisions to reduce spending didn’t inadvertently hit this important program.”

“We thank Congressmen Bacon and Fortenberry for their ongoing support of our federal partnership to combat Ebola and other highly infectious diseases,” said UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D.“They recognize the importance of UNMC’s work and understand why this federal investment to fight Ebola is so crucial. The recent outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo demonstrates that this threat is still quite real. UNMC continues to take the lead in fighting these deadly diseases and remains completely committed to the education and training of health professionals as well as the prevention and treatment of those who are exposed to these diseases.”

During House Floor debate, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise spoke in favor of the rescissions package and thanked Reps. Bacon and Fortenberry for their work to preserve Ebola funding. You can watch the floor speech here.

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