[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4118 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4118

 To require the President to appoint a Special Presidential Envoy for 
 Pandemic Preparedness and Response, who shall develop and implement a 
  diplomatic strategy to prepare for, detect, respond to, and recover 
 from pandemics and other global outbreaks of infectious disease, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 30, 2020

  Ms. Harris introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the President to appoint a Special Presidential Envoy for 
 Pandemic Preparedness and Response, who shall develop and implement a 
  diplomatic strategy to prepare for, detect, respond to, and recover 
 from pandemics and other global outbreaks of infectious disease, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Improving Pandemic Preparedness and 
Response Through Diplomacy Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the annual report of the Global 
        Preparedness Monitoring Board (an independent panel of experts 
        convened by the World Bank Group and the World Health 
        Organization), ``The world is at acute risk for devastating 
        regional or global disease epidemics or pandemics that not only 
        cause loss of life but upend and create social chaos.''.
            (2) The World Health Organization--
                    (A) declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus 
                disease 2019 (COVID-19) a Public Health Emergency of 
                International Concern on January 30, 2020;
                    (B) raised its global risk assessment to ``Very 
                High'' on February 28, 2020; and
                    (C) ultimately declared the outbreak a pandemic on 
                March 11, 2020.
            (3) The risks associated with future outbreaks of 
        infections disease and other global health emergencies, whether 
        naturally-occurring, accidental, or deliberate, are increasing 
        due to a number of factors, including--
                    (A) the spillover of pathogens from animals to 
                humans;
                    (B) the development of antimicrobial resistance;
                    (C) population growth and resulting strains on the 
                environment;
                    (D) urbanization;
                    (E) international travel and trade;
                    (F) forced and voluntary migration;
                    (G) climate change;
                    (H) weak public health infrastructures; and
                    (I) potential acts of bioterrorism.
            (4) Vulnerable populations, including those who live in 
        poverty and in countries with weak public health and government 
        infrastructure, and at-risk groups, such as the sick, older 
        people, ethnic and religious minorities, women, people with 
        disabilities, LGBTQ people, indigenous, migrants, refugees, and 
        children, are particularly susceptible to the outbreak of 
        infectious disease and its consequences.
            (5) According to an April 2020 report of the International 
        Monetary Fund--
                    (A) ``It is very likely that this year the global 
                economy will experience its worst recession since the 
                Depression, surpassing that seen during the global 
                financial crisis a decade ago.''; and
                    (B) ``As a result of the pandemic, the global 
                economy is projected to contract sharply by 3 percent 
                in 2020.''.
            (6) As of May 14, 2020, the Department of Labor estimated 
        that 36,500,000 workers filed for first-time unemployment 
        claims during the previous 8 weeks, which coincides with the 
        timeframe during which the impact of the coronavirus became 
        widespread across the United States.
            (7) The United States Government, along with the medical, 
        scientific, and public health communities, has historically 
        promoted global public health through--
                    (A) multilateral cooperation;
                    (B) funding of relevant research activities; and
                    (C) the provision of development assistance to 
                prepare for, detect, respond to, and recover from the 
                outbreak of infectious disease.
            (8) The Global Health Security Agenda is a multi-faceted, 
        multi-country initiative intended to improve partner countries' 
        measurable capabilities to prevent, detect, and respond to 
        infectious disease, which the United States is committed to 
        advancing.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) no country, acting alone, can effectively protect the 
        health and safety of all its people from the outbreak and 
        spread of infectious disease and other global health 
        emergencies;
            (2) efforts to prepare for, detect, respond to, and recover 
        from disease outbreaks and pandemics globally--
                    (A) are in the interests of the United States; and
                    (B) are consistent with the promotion of core 
                values of peace, prosperity, health, and equal dignity 
                and rights of all peoples;
            (3) robust diplomacy, including multilateral diplomacy and 
        development assistance, is an essential part of a well-
        coordinated, whole-of-government strategy to prepare for, 
        detect, respond to, and recover from disease outbreak and 
        spread and other global health emergencies; and
            (4) support for, and active participation in, multilateral 
        organizations, such as the United Nations and the World Health 
        Organization, enhance the efforts of the United States to 
        prepare for, detect, respond to, and recover from disease 
        outbreaks and pandemics, both domestically and globally.

SEC. 4. SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY FOR PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND 
              RESPONSE.

    (a) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``appropriate 
congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
            (2) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
        of the Senate;
            (3) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
        Affairs of the Senate;
            (4) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
            (5) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 
        of the Senate;
            (6) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
        of the Senate;
            (7) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate;
            (8) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
        Representatives;
            (9) the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 
        Representatives;
            (10) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
        Representatives;
            (11) the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of 
        Representatives;
            (12) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
        Representatives;
            (13) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of 
        Representatives;
            (14) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
        Representatives; and
            (15) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 
        House of Representatives.
    (b) Office of the Special Presidential Envoy.--There is established 
in the Office of the Secretary of State, an Office of the Special 
Presidential Envoy, which--
            (1) shall be led by the Special Presidential Envoy for 
        Pandemic Preparedness and Response (referred to in this section 
        as the ``Special Presidential Envoy'') appointed pursuant to 
        subsection (c);
            (2) shall be staffed with--
                    (A) detailees from the bureaus and offices under 
                the jurisdiction of the Under Secretary for Economic 
                Growth, Energy, and the Environment;
                    (B) detailees from the Bureau of Oceans and 
                International Environmental and Scientific Affairs; and
                    (C) any other Department of State personnel the 
                Secretary considers necessary.
    (c) Appointment.--The President, in consultation with the Secretary 
of State and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall appoint 
a Special Presidential Envoy for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, 
who shall have the rank and status of Ambassador-at-Large.
    (d) Qualifications.--The Special Presidential Envoy shall have 
extensive experience in global public health, diplomacy, medicine, or a 
related field.
    (e) Duties.--
            (1) In general.--The principal duty of the Special 
        Presidential Envoy shall be the overall supervision, including 
        policy oversight of resources, of diplomatic efforts to prepare 
        for, detect, respond to, and recover from pandemics and other 
        global outbreaks of infectious disease. The Special 
        Presidential Envoy shall exercise such powers as the Secretary 
        of State may prescribe.
            (2) Strategy development.--The Special Presidential Envoy 
        shall develop, and, in coordination with the heads of relevant 
        departments and agencies, direct the implementation of the 
        diplomatic strategy described in section 5.
    (f) Reports.--
            (1) Report on covid-19 pandemic.--Not later than 30 days 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, and quarterly 
        thereafter, the Special Presidential Envoy shall submit a 
        report to the appropriate congressional committees that 
        describes his or her efforts to develop and implement a 
        diplomatic strategy comprised of the elements specified in 
        section 5 with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic.
            (2) General report.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
        of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, 
        the Special Presidential Envoy shall submit a report to the 
        appropriate congressional committees that describes his or her 
        efforts to develop and implement a diplomatic strategy 
        comprised of the elements specified in section 5 with respect 
        to any and all future outbreaks of infectious disease or 
        pandemics.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $10,000,000 for the Office of the Special Presidential 
Envoy to carry out this section.

SEC. 5. ELEMENTS OF DIPLOMATIC STRATEGY.

    The diplomatic strategy to prepare for, detect, respond to, and 
recover from pandemics and other global outbreaks of infectious disease 
should address--
            (1) the development of medical countermeasures, including 
        vaccines, antimicrobials, therapeutics, and diagnostics for 
        emerging infectious diseases;
            (2) zoonotic disease prevention, detection, and response;
            (3) the development of disease surveillance systems;
            (4) the promotion of disease reporting and greater 
        transparency of disease-related information;
            (5) increasing the capabilities and capacity of national 
        laboratories;
            (6) combating the spread of antimicrobial resistant 
        microorganisms;
            (7) scientific workforce development and training;
            (8) the mitigation of, disruptions to, and other issues 
        related to, global medical supply chains;
            (9) efforts to prevent the outbreak and spread of 
        infectious diseases among displaced persons and other 
        vulnerable populations;
            (10) the development and use of standards and best 
        practices for the imposition and lifting of disease mitigation 
        measures, including travel restrictions, social distancing, 
        quarantining, and other restrictions on economic and social 
        activities; and
            (11) efforts to combat the spread of disinformation and 
        racial discrimination related to the outbreak and spread of 
        infectious disease.

SEC. 6. INTERAGENCY STEERING COMMITTEE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State, acting through the Special 
Presidential Envoy for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, shall 
regularly convene an interagency steering committee to aid in the 
development, coordination, and implementation of the diplomatic 
strategy described in section 5.
    (b) Membership.--The interagency steering committee referred to in 
subsection (a)--
            (1) should be led by the Special Presidential Envoy; and
            (2) shall include, as members--
                    (A) the Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and 
                International Environmental and Scientific Affairs;
                    (B) the Global AIDS Coordinator and United States 
                Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy;
                    (C) any other Department of State personnel the 
                Secretary considers necessary;
                    (D) the Director of the Office of Global Affairs of 
                the Department of Health and Human Services; and
                    (E) at least 1 representative from each of the 
                following agencies:
                            (i) The United States Agency for 
                        International Development.
                            (ii) The Department of Health and Human 
                        Services.
                            (iii) The Centers for Disease Control and 
                        Prevention.
                            (iv) The National Institutes of Health.
                            (v) The Department of Agriculture.
                            (vi) The Department of Homeland Security.
                            (vii) The Department of the Treasury.
                            (viii) The Department of Commerce.
                            (ix) The Office of the United States Trade 
                        Representative.
                            (x) The Department of Labor.
                            (xi) The White House Office of Science and 
                        Technology Policy.
                            (xii) The Office of the Director of 
                        National Intelligence.
                            (xiii) The Department of Defense.

SEC. 7. OUTSIDE PANEL OF EXPERTS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State, acting through the Special 
Presidential Envoy for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, shall 
regularly convene an outside panel of experts--
            (1) to advise the Special Presidential Envoy regarding 
        scientific, technical, and other policy matters; and
            (2) to make recommendations for the development and 
        implementation of the diplomatic strategy described in section 
        5.
    (b) Composition.--The Special Presidential Envoy, in consultation 
with the interagency steering committee established pursuant to section 
6, shall determine who will be included on the panel convened pursuant 
to subsection (a).
    (c) Applicability of FACA.--The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
U.S.C. App. shall not apply to the panel convened pursuant to 
subsection (a)).

SEC. 8. HONORING FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS TO THE WORLD HEALTH 
              ORGANIZATION.

    Subject to the availability of appropriations, but notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Treasury shall remit 
all United States assessed contributions to the World Health 
Organization not later than the date on which such contributions are 
due and payable.
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