IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 118 
Expressing the sense of Congress that health workers deserve our profound 
gratitude and respect for their commitments and sacrifices in addressing 
the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 14, 2014 
Mr. CICILLINE (for himself, Ms. BASS, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. 
MCCOLLUM, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. KINZINGER of 
Illinois, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. LEE of 
California, and Mr. LEVIN) submitted the following concurrent resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress that health workers deserve 
our profound gratitude and respect for their commit-
ments and sacrifices in addressing the Ebola epidemic 
in West Africa. 
Whereas the current Ebola epidemic in Guinea, Liberia, and 
Sierra Leone is the first Ebola outbreak in West Africa 
and by far the largest Ebola outbreak ever; 
Whereas the Ebola Virus Disease is a severe acute viral ill-
ness that has symptoms that are also common to other 
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viruses, such as fever, muscle pain, and intestinal prob-
lems, making it difficult to properly identify; 
Whereas Ebola outbreaks are characterized by human-to- 
human transmission of the virus through direct contact 
with blood, body fluids, and tissues of infected people 
such as through needle sticks, unprotected care of in-
fected individuals, and unsafe funeral preparation or bur-
ial ceremonies; 
Whereas Ebola outbreaks historically have a case fatality rate 
of up to 90 percent; 
Whereas there is currently no licensed vaccine for Ebola or 
treatment for Ebola other than supportive care; 
Whereas according to the World Health Organization, as of 
November 12, 2014, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone 
have reported 14,098 suspected, probable, and confirmed 
cases since December 2013; 
Whereas the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC) estimates that for every case reported an addi-
tional 1.5 cases are not recorded; 
Whereas second order impacts of the Ebola outbreak are 
threatening local public health systems, economic and 
food security, and political stability; 
Whereas the Ebola virus threatens to destabilize the nascent 
political systems in affected countries and disrupt the 
free flow of people and goods in a globalized world econ-
omy; 
Whereas the United States cannot truly protect itself from 
the Ebola crisis without ending the outbreak in West Af-
rica; 
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Whereas the United States has addressed the crisis by dis-
bursing over $414,000,000 to date, deploying a Disaster 
Assistance Response Team (DART) to coordinate the 
United States Government response in West Africa, send-
ing United States military and broader uniformed serv-
ices to support logistics, training, and engineering; 
Whereas the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015 in-
cluded $88,000,000 to support the international response 
to the outbreak and to invest in the research and develop-
ment of Ebola vaccines and treatments; 
Whereas at the time of the initial outbreak many health 
workers in West Africa did not have proper training or 
experience to recognize, diagnose, and care for Ebola pa-
tients and prevent transmission; 
Whereas the United States is helping to train health workers 
from member states of the African Union to directly re-
spond to medical needs in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra 
Leone, but more trained workers are still needed; 
Whereas nongovernmental organizations such as Doctors 
Without Borders (MSF), the International Federation of 
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, American Jewish 
World Service, International Medical Corps, International 
Rescue Committee, Partners in Health, Samaritan’s 
Purse, Global Communities, and many more are respond-
ing to the crisis; 
Whereas the United States Agency for International Develop-
ment (USAID) and the Center for International Disaster 
Information operate a database for medical professionals 
in the United States who are willing to go overseas to 
fight Ebola; 
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Whereas, as of November 10, 2014, USAID has received 
nearly 
4,800 
self-nominated, 
non-vetted 
volunteers 
through the usaid.gov online registration portal for health 
care volunteers and passing these contacts to interested 
aid organizations working in the region for vetting, pos-
sible selection, and training; 
Whereas MSF has said what is needed most to fight the epi-
demic in West Africa is not cash contributions, but rath-
er additional health workers; 
Whereas according to the World Health Organization, over 
540 health workers in West Africa, including several 
United States citizens, have been infected in the current 
outbreak and over 310 have died; 
Whereas 2 nurses contracted Ebola while treating a patient 
in the United States, and have since recovered; and 
Whereas the United States Government, in cooperation with 
international partners, must do everything possible to 
protect health workers who may come into contact with 
Ebola, such as by procuring additional units of personal 
protective equipment (PPE) and investing in research 
and development of better methods of protection: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) recognizes and honors the commitment, 
courage, and sacrifices made by medical profes-
sionals, national and community health care work-
ers, government officials, military personnel, non-
governmental organizations, members of civil society, 
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faith leaders, and volunteers engaged in the effort to 
combat and contain the Ebola Virus Disease, there-
by saving countless lives; 
(2) calls on research and development groups 
and medical device companies to develop better ways 
to protect health workers from Ebola infection; 
(3) remains committed to mobilizing the re-
sources and personnel necessary to help fight the 
spread of this disease to save lives and to protect the 
national security and global health interests of the 
United States; 
(4) calls on the international community to in-
crease its commitments of resources, services, and 
personnel to assist affected nations in addressing the 
current epidemic; and 
(5) recognizes the need to address long-term so-
lutions to the Ebola epidemic, including by helping 
to build resilient public health systems. 
Æ 
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