Federalism In Ebola

The supreme law of the land (“Constitution of the United States” 17), the source of all government power (“The Constitution” 1), the Constitution, framed in 1787 established the structure of United States government on the basis of the unprecedented notion: federalism. Federalism, the division of power amongst varying levels of government, first appeared in the English language in 1793 (Oxford English Dictionary), and has since remained true to both its American origin and denotation. In modern times, federalism is evident in the American system in addressing the West-African epidemic, and borderline pandemic, ebola. Through collaborative and individual efforts, the federal, state and local governmental bodies of the United States have exemplified the concept

Evaluated in alliance by various entities of the United States federal government, ebola has acted in pivotal fashion to illustrate federalism in its truest definition, that of the above-stated division of power amongst varying levels of government. The Department of Homeland Security and Center for Disease Control and Prevention were of the first federal organizations to take action in early October upon the instance of mandating individuals bound for the United States from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea—the three countries affected most significantly by the disease—be screened for ebola derived symptoms, such as considerably high body temperature. More recently, however, President Obama has taken action of his own in requesting a total of six billion dollars from Congress to fight the spreading condition (Achenbach 1). Citing the security of the United States as his prerogative and priority, Obama has appealed for upwards of four billion dollars in advance for dispersion between the Department of Health and Human Services, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the State Department and the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for