Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) on Monday called on the Obama administration to finalize proposed regulations to expand reporting requirements for sick passengers arriving in the United States from foreign countries — a proposal first made in 2005.
First proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services under the George W. Bush administration, the revised regulations were in reaction to the fear of the avian flu and the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus two years prior. They called for airlines and ocean liners to collect contact information for all passengers and crew, and submit it to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention upon request. The lists would be used to notify passengers of suspected exposure.
In 2010, USA Today reported that Obama’s administration had “quietly scrapped” those plans and that the American Civil Liberties Union objected to potential passenger privacy rights violations.
With no changes implemented, the code of regulations dealing with foreign arrivals has not been updated since 1985. Kelly insists the current Ebola outbreak makes this the time to make those changes.
“It is both frustrating and shocking that there has not been a significant update to our nation’s quarantine laws in nearly 30 years,” Kelly said. “In that time, there has been a dramatic increase in international travel as well an increased likelihood in the introduction, transmission and spread of communicable diseases into America.
“Even though the world has changed, we’re still relying on rules written when the Berlin Wall was still standing. This is totally unacceptable. Just as an army cannot succeed with outdated weapons, an effective war on Ebola cannot be waged or won with policies from three decades ago.”