The nation's economy could be gravely hurt without the enactment of travel restrictions to Ebola-stricken nations to help stem the spread of the deadly virus at home, Sen. Chuck Grassley tells
Newsmax TV.
"If public health is harmed and you have this drastic thing spread throughout the U.S., it's going to hurt our economy. It's necessary to make sure the economy stays strong," Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said Tuesday on the "Steve Malzberg Show."
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Grassley, a member of the Senate Judiciary and Senate Finance Committees, has, with six Judiciary Committee colleagues, penned a letter to President Barack Obama demanding he stop allowing visas to the U.S. from countries in the throes of Ebola.
And he rejects arguments by some that restricting flights to and from West Africa — the epicenter of the crisis — smacks of racism.
"America, for public health reasons, has been quarantining people for a century or more. It's part of our effort to control things. It's ridiculous to say it's racist," Grassley said.
"If this was coming from Europe, I'm sure we would do what we could to keep people from Europe out of our country. Its good public health, so that accusation is ridiculous and we ought to forget about it.
"We ought to do what the American people say we ought to do. We ought to do what common sense says we ought to do."
Thus far, the commander-in-chief, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have resisted calls for a travel ban, although they have beefed up Ebola detection efforts at airports.
Grassley said there is no guarantee that stopping the issuing visas to people in West Africa will help curtail the spread of Ebola.
"But we think it will help contain it. We ought to try all things. You'd only eliminate anything when you're opposed to what could be a global disaster," he said.
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