Obama wants $6.2 billion in emergency funds to fight Ebola

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is asking Congress for $6.2 billion in emergency funds to fight Ebola. The request covers spending to confront the disease at its source in West Africa and to secure the United States against any possible spread.

Administration officials say the money would be apportioned into nearly $2 billion for the United States Agency for International Development and $2.4 billion to the Department of Health and Human Services. More than $1.5 billion would be for a contingency fund.

The Ebola money is the first request from Obama in the aftermath of an election that ushered in a Republican-controlled Congress and that’s being widely perceived as a repudiation of the president. The White House is asking for prompt action, meaning it wants approval during the current session of Congress.

JIM KUHNHENN AND ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press