{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.roberts.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=3fcd902b-c764-45ab-8bcc-9b64d5d0b76f", "Senator Roberts Helps Introduce Bill to Block Travel from Ebola Infected Nations", "2014-11-20", "2014", "2014-11", "Republican", "House", "KS", "Pat Roberts", "R000307", "www.roberts.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today joined U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in introducing legislation to protect the United States from further spread of the deadly Ebola disease by restricting travel to the U.S. from nations where the disease is emerging.\r\n\u201cIt is commonsense to limit travelers entering the United States who may be exposed to deadly diseases like Ebola,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cAs global travel becomes more commonplace, our policies on disease management and national security need to be re-assessed especially given the recent spread of Ebola within our shores.\u201d\r\nSenator Roberts cosponsored Senator Rubio\u2019s \u201cKeeping America Safe from Ebola Act of 2014.\u201d The following is a summary of the bill:\r\n \r\nSuspends new visas and revokes current visas of an individual who is:\r\n \r\n \r\nA permanent resident or national of a country that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has certified is a country for \u201cwidespread transmission of Ebola\u201d and;\r\nWhose last habitual residence was a country that the CDC has certified is a country for \u201cwidespread transmission of Ebola\r\n \r\nRecognizing the importance of American health workers\u2019 role in fighting disease outbreaks, the bill grants an exception for aid workers who need to travel the U.S. and are approved by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and; foreign military who need to travel to the U.S. and are approved by the Department of Defense.\r\nTo keep the American people and the Congress better informed, the bill also requires the President to report to Congress the status of Ebola outbreaks in each designated country and the progress made in fighting the disease. This will also include a description of the U.S. assistance to each designated country and any reasons that a complete travel ban is not in the interest of U.S. national security.\r\nOn Wednesday, Senator Roberts voted for a bill in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee that would add Ebola to the Food and Drug Administration\u2019s (FDA) Priority Review Voucher Program. This will allow the FDA to incentivize the development of treatments and vaccines for Ebola, speeding up research to fight the disease.\r\nSenator Roberts is a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and is the Co-Chair of the Rural Health Caucus.\r\n\u00a0\r\n-30-", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.roberts.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=3fcd902b-c764-45ab-8bcc-9b64d5d0b76f"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5111209359019995, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}