Florida Republican questions administration opposition to West Africa travel ban

Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) on Tuesday requested data from the Obama administration to support its argument against imposing a travel ban against countries in West Africa afflicted by the Ebola outbreak.

In a letter to President Obama, Rooney argued that establishing enhanced screening procedures at five major U.S. airports, such as checking temperatures of people arriving from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, weren’t enough.

{mosads}”I am extremely concerned that existing pre-screening procedures at airports in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia and the enhanced entry screening at five U.S. airports fail to restrict travelers not yet exhibiting symptoms of Ebola from entering the U.S.,” Rooney wrote.

Recent public polling has shown that a majority of Americans support a travel ban on the three countries most affected by Ebola. An ABC News-Washington Post poll released Tuesday founded that two-thirds of respondents believe the U.S. should restrict travel from the Ebola-stricken countries. But the Obama administration has said repeatedly that such a ban would only make it harder for health workers to reach those countries and ultimately make the situation worse.

Rooney called on the administration to back up its argument with concrete evidence, including its policy on allowing dual citizens and B-2 visa holders to travel between Ebola-stricken countries and how many people have traveled from the three primary countries in West Africa this year.

“I believe further statistical and anecdotal evidence is necessary to support these arguments and to better explain to the American people why issuing travel restrictions, however minimal, is not in our national security interest,” Rooney said.

The Florida Republican suggested that the U.S. could implement a limited travel ban that applies only to non-essential travel.

“Would limiting non-essential travel of dual citizens and those receiving tourist visas alleviate the burden on CBP and CDC personnel charged with entry screening, and would it reduce the risk of allowing individuals with the virus into the U.S.?” Rooney wrote.