U.S. Ebola funding increase to $750 million delayed by senator
By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican senator on Thursday was holding up a $700 million increase in the U.S. military's funding to fight Ebola in West Africa, citing concerns about protecting the health of military staff and the long-term future of the mission. Senator James Inhofe, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, was waiting for additional information from the Defense Department before he could decide to release the additional funds, his spokeswoman said. The Obama administration originally requested a shift of $1 billion from a war operations budget to support the deployment of nearly 4,000 troops to West Africa and set up dozens of medical treatment facilities. That was limited to a $50 million transfer last week as Republicans sought additional details on the mission. Two senior Republicans in the House of Representatives on Thursday agreed to release a further $700 million. "This week, the committee received briefings in which the DoD estimates, based upon prior humanitarian relief efforts, they will require $750 million for the first six months of the mission," House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon said in a statement. McKeon and Rodney Frelinghuysen, chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, said while they still had concerns about the health and safety of military personnel, they had enough information to release that amount. Approval for the funding shift under an arcane process known as a "reprogramming request" is concentrated in the hands of a handful of chairmen and ranking minority-party members in the House and Senate. Inhofe spokeswoman Donelle Harder said the Oklahoma lawmaker was not yet satisfied with Pentagon answers on safety precautions and the future of the mission in West Africa. Inhofe has said the Ebola effort should ultimately be shifted to other agencies and non-profit groups. "They have not been able to answer what the transition plan is in six months when the money runs out," Harder said. "The senator is doing his best to respect the timeline that everyone is under. The hope is that they can deliver by tomorrow." Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, a Democrat, is ready to grant the full $1 billion request, but has been willing to work with Inhofe to satisfy his concerns. A Pentagon spokesman said the department was in discussions with Capitol Hill on the Ebola funding and had not received any formal notification yet lifting the spending restrictions. The $50 million funding approved so far was not likely to last long. Under the $750 million six-month mission cost outlined by the Pentagon, the military's Ebola spending rate works out to about $28 million a week. A Pentagon official said the restrictions had not muted its response so far, but "the department has to prioritize its support to stay within the available funding." (Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle and David Alexander; Editing by Peter Cooney)
