Erin Kelly

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Top senators from both parties Wednesday indicated a willingness to move quickly to approve President Obama's request for $6.2 billion in emergency funds to fight the spread of Ebola.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., said at a committee hearing that the funding should be included in any spending bill Congress approves next month to keep the government running,

"I think there is a national consensus that we need to contain and eradicate the disease," Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., said at a hearing to consider the president's request.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the senior Republican on the committee, said the funding request should be scrutinized closely to ensure the money will be spent wisely. However, he did not say he would oppose it.

"If the history of disease outbreaks has taught us anything, it is that things can change quickly and without warning," Shelby said. "Our federal agencies must be ready to aggressively implement a clear and organized strategy."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said that taking action on Ebola funding must be one of the top priorities for the lame-duck Congress in the final days of the session. McConnell is set to become majority leader in the new Congress that convenes in January.

Although he did not say whether he would support the specifics of Obama's funding request, McConnell made it clear that he wants the issue to be addressed before Congress adjourns for the year.

"We must continue to support efforts to address the Ebola crisis," McConnell said Wednesday.

None of the senators at Wednesday's hearing said they would oppose the president's funding request. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said he believes Congress will work together to approve the emergency funds this year.

"I know we are all thinking about the transition of power we are currently implementing, but I believe we can and must work together to enact a comprehensive plan to contain the Ebola virus and do it in a way that leaves our public health system stronger for the next infectious disease threat," he said.

Obama has made the request for more Ebola funding one of his top priorities for Congress to complete this year.

"My foremost priority is to protect the health and safety of Americans, and this request supports all necessary steps to fortify our domestic health system and prevent any outbreaks at home," President Obama said in a letter to Congress in advance of the hearing. "Over the longer term, my administration recognizes that the best way to prevent additional cases at home will be to contain and eliminate the epidemic at its source in Africa."

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell told the committee it is still possible that there could be new cases of Ebola in the United States. Currently, there are no active cases of Ebola in the United States, Burwell said. There have been nine cases in all in the U.S. Eight of those patients recovered and are free of the disease. One patient died in Dallas.

"We believe we have the right strategy in place both at home and abroad," Burwell testified Wednesday. "While we may see additional cases in the United States, we are confident we can contain the disease."

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Thomas Frieden also sought to reassure Americans.

"We don't think a large outbreak is at all likely in the United States," he told the Senate panel.

In the president's funding request, more than $4.6 billion of the funding would be used to strengthen U.S. public health systems, contain the epidemic in West Africa, speed the development and purchase of vaccines, and help vulnerable nations prevent Ebola outbreaks.

The remaining $1.5 billion-plus would go into a contingency fund to ensure that there is money available to meet future needs.

Obama said the emergency funding would boost the administration's ongoing efforts to fight Ebola. Those efforts in West Africa include deploying medical personnel and up to 4,000 members of the U.S. military, building Ebola treatment centers, constructing a hospital for infected health care workers, and helping communities safely bury patients who have died from the disease.

More than 13,000 people in West Africa have contracted Ebola since March. Of those, about 4,800 have died, according to the World Health Organization.

One person, Thomas Eric Duncan, has died from the disease in the United States. He began experiencing symptoms of Ebola after arriving in Dallas from Liberia.