{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://cole.house.gov/wsj-obama-urges-congress-pass-ebola-funding-holiday-break", "WSJ: Obama Urges Congress to Pass Ebola Funding Before Holiday Break", "2014-12-02", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "OK", "Tom Cole", "C001053", "cole.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Wall Street Journal - Byron Tau\nPresident Barack Obama invoked the responsibility of the U.S. to lead on the world stage as he renewed his call for Congress to pass a $6.2 billion emergency aid package aimed at combating the Ebola outbreak.\nSpeaking at an event at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., Mr. Obama said American leadership at home and abroad was needed to tackle the deadly disease worldwide. \u201cWe need to protect the American people, and we need to show the world how America leads,\u201d the president said.\n\u201cAmerican leadership matters, every time. We set the tone, and we set the agenda,\u201d Mr. Obama said, after a brief tour of the research facilities, located just outside Washington, D.C.\nLast week, the World Health Organization reported that more than 5,600 people have died from the current Ebola outbreak.\nThe president\u2019s visit to NIH was sparked by last week\u2019s announcement by researchers there that an early clinical trial of a potential Ebola vaccine appeared to be safe and ready for a field trial in West Africa later this year or early next year. \u201cNo potential Ebola vaccine has ever made it this far, so this is exciting news,\u201d the president said.\n\u201cThe work you do here is remarkable,\u201d Mr. Obama said. \u201cPart of American leadership in the world\u2014one of the things that has always marked us as exceptional\u2014is our leadership in science and our leadership in research.\u201d\nIn his 20-minute remarks, the president called on Congress to ensure that the aid package was passed before the congressional holiday break\u2014calling it a bipartisan, common-sense measure that would protect both Americans and people around the world.\nThe White House requests for additional funds to address the Ebola outbreak and the threat from Islamic State militants are under negotiation as part of the House-Senate talks over a funding measure through next September, a congressional aide said.\n\u201cWe\u2019re going to try and be as helpful as we can be,\u201d said Rep. Tom Cole (R., Okla.), a member of the House Appropriations Committee. \u201cThose just aren\u2019t appropriate political weapons and they ought to both be approached in a bipartisan way.\u201d\nMr. Obama linked the current Ebola outbreak to the need for additional public investments in science and research\u2014calling the outbreak and the work on a potential vaccine \u201ca reminder of the importance of government funded research and our need to keep investing in basic research.\u201d\nHe also warned that the world needed to be vigilant to keep the disease from spreading any further. \u201cEvery hot spot is an ember; if not contained, it can become a new fire,\u201d Mr. Obama said.\nOnline: Wall Street Journal", 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": ["http://cole.house.gov/wsj-obama-urges-congress-pass-ebola-funding-holiday-break"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8928379975259304, "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"}