[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4240 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4240

  To prohibit the use of funds to withdraw the United States from the 
                       World Health Organization.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 21, 2020

 Mr. Coons (for himself and Mr. Leahy) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prohibit the use of funds to withdraw the United States from the 
                       World Health Organization.

    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 ``No WHO Withdrawal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) In 1948, the United States became a state party to the 
        Constitution of the World Health Organization, done at New York 
        July 22, 1946, and entered into force April 7, 1948 (62 Stat. 
        2679; TIAS 1808), a multilateral treaty to which the United 
        States was an original signatory and the terms of which the 
        United States helped draft.
            (2) Pursuant to Article 4 of the Constitution of the World 
        Health Organization, the United States accepted that 
        Constitution's terms in accordance with the provisions of that 
        Constitution and in accordance with the constitutional 
        processes of the United States.
            (3) The Constitution of the World Health Organization lacks 
        an explicit withdrawal provision.
            (4) Congress passed the joint resolution entitled ``Joint 
        Resolution providing for membership and participation by the 
        United States in the World Health Organization and authorizing 
        an appropriation therefor.'', approved June 14, 1948 (62 Stat. 
        441, chapter 469), authorizing the President to accept United 
        States membership in the World Health Organization and 
        specifying that the United States could withdraw from the 
        Organization upon the satisfaction of the following two 
        conditions:
                    (A) The United States would provide notice one year 
                before withdrawing.
                    (B) The United States would continue to meet its 
                financial obligations to the World Health Organization 
                for the Organization's current fiscal year.
            (5) That joint resolution authorized an annual 
        appropriation to the Department of State for the payment by the 
        United States of its share of the expenses of the World Health 
        Organization, and in doing so, Congress exercised both its 
        constitutional power of the purse and its power to approve 
        international agreements.
            (6) President Harry Truman's statement of the acceptance of 
        the United States of the Constitution of the World Health 
        Organization expressly acknowledged that he was ``acting 
        pursuant to the authority granted by the joint resolution . . . 
        and subject to the provisions of that joint resolution'' (62 
        Stat. 2792).
            (7) On July 2, 1948, the World Health Assembly unanimously 
        recognized the validity of the ratification of the Constitution 
        of the World Health Organization by the United States.
            (8) The World Health Organization plays an essential role 
        in the global governance of health and infectious disease, 
        including through setting norms and sharing information, 
        facilitating international coordination, providing technical 
        support, and monitoring health trends around the world.
            (9) The United States was the World Health Organization's 
        largest donor in 2018 and 2019, providing $893,000,000, or 
        about 15 percent, of the Organization's budget.
            (10) On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization 
        declared the coronavirus disease 2019 (commonly known as 
        ``COVID-19'') outbreak a public health emergency of 
        international concern.
            (11) The World Health Organization is working to help 
        countries manage and respond to COVID-19 and a multitude of 
        other public health threats, including by improving 
        preparedness and response capacity, accelerating research and 
        development for treatment and therapeutics, distributing 
        essential supplies, and coordinating across regions to assess, 
        respond, and mitigate risk.
            (12) On April 14, 2020, in the midst of the deadliest 
        global pandemic in decades, President Donald J. Trump announced 
        the suspension of United States funding to the World Health 
        Organization pending a review into the Organization's response 
        to the spread of COVID-19.
            (13) On July 6, 2020, President Trump sent a formal notice 
        to Congress and the World Health Organization that the United 
        States will withdraw from the Organization after 72 years of 
        membership, despite the Organization's vital role in the global 
        response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
            (14) The United States may not legally withdraw from the 
        World Health Organization Constitution until, at the earliest, 
        July 6, 2021, one year after the date of the formal withdrawal 
        notice, and the United States would still be legally obligated 
        to pay the balance of its financial obligations to the World 
        Health Organization.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to remain a member in good standing of the World Health 
        Organization, including by payment of the financial obligations 
        of the United States to the Organization;
            (2) to reject any efforts to withdraw the United States 
        from the World Health Organization, either directly, or 
        indirectly through condemnation of the Organization; and
            (3) to continue to work within the World Health 
        Organization to reform and improve the Organization.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF FUNDS TO WITHDRAW FROM THE WORLD 
              HEALTH ORGANIZATION.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 
funds described in subsection (b) may be obligated or expended to take 
any action to withdraw the United States from the World Health 
Organization.
    (b) Funds Described.--The funds described in this subsection are 
funds--
            (1) authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made 
        available for fiscal year 2021 or any fiscal year thereafter; 
        or
            (2) authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made 
        available for any fiscal year before fiscal year 2021 and 
        available for obligation as of the date of the enactment of 
        this Act.
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