[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16617]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

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NOMINATION OF FRANKLIN M. ORR, JR., TO BE UNDER SECRETARY FOR SCIENCE, 
                          DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will proceed to executive session to consider the following 
nomination, which the clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read the nomination of Franklin M. Orr, Jr., of 
California, to be Under Secretary for Science, Department of Energy.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the time 
until 10 a.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the two 
leaders or their designees.
  The assistant majority leader.


           Chicago Nurse Cares for Ebola Patients in Liberia

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the holiday rush is underway and millions 
of Americans are decorating, shopping, and preparing to spend 
Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa with their loved ones. I want to draw 
attention to one woman from Illinois who is doing something very 
different.
  Janet Teasley is a registered nurse in Chicago. She has volunteered 
to spend her holiday season in Liberia treating patients with the 
potentially deadly Ebola virus.
  When Janet Teasley first told her family and coworkers of her plan, 
she says she encountered some resistance. One doctor with whom she 
works was only half kidding when he said he thought she was crazy. But 
once he realized she was serious, the doctor told Teasley he admired 
her. I share that admiration.
  The U.S. Agency for International Development estimates that nearly 
16,000 people have contracted the Ebola virus. Nearly 6,000 have died. 
Today, it is estimated that 7,000 people in Liberia, where Janet 
Teasley is volunteering, have Ebola. She is helping some of the 
neediest patients in that country that has been the hardest hit by this 
disease.
  Although Ebola has been contained so far here in the United States, 
the outbreak is still raging in parts of West Africa. Teasley is part 
of a wave of U.S. health care workers being recruited to help stop the 
spread of the disease in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and now Mali.
  Teasley got involved through AmericaCares, which is one of about 150 
nonprofits working with our government to recruit workers nationwide.
  Teasley has been a nurse for 17 years, working in emergency care and 
infectious disease units, most recently at Holy Cross Hospital in 
Chicago--a hospital which I know well in the inner city, which serves 
some of the poorest families in our town.
  Now she will spend 8 weeks in Buchanan, Liberia, training and then 
treating patients. She explains:

       I came here for a purpose, and I want to see that through. 
     . . . I honestly believe no man is an island; each man's 
     death diminishes me. That's why I became a nurse.

  Teasley's daughter Danica Miller wasn't surprised by her mom. She 
says for leisure, her mom doesn't read novels but pours over books 
about infectious diseases.
  Despite her family's support, Teasley is conscious of the increased 
risk she faces. In fact, many of those who have fallen ill have been 
health care workers themselves. Teasley is just sure she is not going 
to be one of them. She says she is confident in herself and her team 
and that she will be able to come home safely.
  To stop this epidemic, we need many things. First and foremost we 
need more people like Nurse Teasley. The Federal Government is seeking 
medical professionals to work in the 23 Ebola treatment units being 
established in Liberia. While the number of volunteers increased 
steadily this fall, it did drop off a bit when there was confusion over 
quarantine policies for returning medical workers. With time and 
perspective, this confusion seems to be settling. Illinois has brought 
its quarantine policy in line with that of the Centers for Disease 
Control. With a scientifically grounded and carefully measured 
approach, the hope is health care workers with the same passion and 
courage as Nurse Janet Teasley will volunteer to help those in need.
  I met with Tom Frieden, Director of the CDC, a couple of weeks ago. 
He and members of the international public health community maintain 
that the way to control the spread of Ebola is to contain the virus at 
its source.
  To prepare for the possibility of Ebola patients here in America and 
to help with containment overseas, the Obama administration has 
requested $6.18 billion in emergency funding, including $1.83 billion 
for the CDC. I support the President.
  Janet is a valuable and commendable part of this effort, and I hope 
people will hear her story and the stories of people like her and 
support the efforts of the United States in Liberia.


                         Vote on Orr Nomination

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question now occurs on the Orr 
nomination.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination 
of Franklin M. Orr, Jr., of California, to be Under Secretary for 
Science, Department of Energy?
  The nomination was confirmed.

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