White House wants extra anti-Ebola funding

, Nov 6: The US federal government will ask Congress for 6.18 billion dollars in additional funding to fight

, dwarfing previous requests, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday.

The administration will ask lawmakers to approve more than 4.64 billion dollars for the immediate response to the disease and ask for extra 1.54 billion dollars in contingency fund to make resources available if necessary, Xinhua quoted the statement as saying.

This is an opportunity for Congress and this Administration to continue the work together to provide the additional resources needed through appropriations efforts in order to be responsive to the resource needs on the ground and here at home, it said.

The request, a giant jump from the money Congress has already approved, will send to the House for approval later Wednesday afternoon.

In September, lawmakers approved 88 million dollars in a stopgap funding bill that expires Dec 11 for anti-Ebola efforts. Lawmakers also signed off on shifting 750 million dollars in Pentagon funds toward the Ebola response.

The focus on the Ebola epidemic in the US has died down in the run-up to the midterm elections as some of the patients diagnosed with the killer disease recovered fully.

IANS