COLUMBUS, Ohio – Lawmakers in Columbus and Washington are calling for investigations into how the Ebola outbreak was handled, but at least one Statehouse leader says now is not the time.
“You don’t ask the firefighters to jump off the truck on their way to the fire and explain how they plan to put it out,” state Senate President Keith Faber (R–Celina) said Thursday in response to calls by Democrats for today released the following statement in response to calls for joint legislative hearings on the state’s Ebola response:
Faber credits Gov. John Kasich and the Ohio Department of Health with responding “a proactive and transparent approach to the threat.” He took a swipe at the Obama administration in his statement, saying the state’s response, under Republican Kasich, was better than the federal reaction under the Democratic Obama.
Congress grilled health officials on the federal response when the first Ebola case in the U.S. was reported.
UPDATE: President Barack Obama appointed Ron Klain, a former chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden and a trusted adviser at the Obama White House, as the point man on the U.S. government’s response to the Ebola crisis.
Faber said a legislative hearing process now would not help the unfolding situation in northeastern Ohio.
“I have no problem with evaluating the state’s response retroactively or stepping in if a problem arises, but that’s not the case at this point,” he said.
Members of the administration are scheduled to appear before the joint legislative Controlling Board with funding requests for the current Ebola scare and for preparations for any future response, Faber said.