[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 579 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 579

    Encouraging the international community to remain committed to 
  collaboration and coordination to mitigate and prevent the further 
  spread of COVID-19 and urging renewed United States leadership and 
    participation in any global efforts on therapeutics and vaccine 
   development and delivery to address COVID-19 and prevent further 
                    deaths, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 14, 2020

   Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Leahy, Mr. 
Menendez, Mr. Murphy, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Coons, Mr. Udall, Mr. Bennet, 
Mr. Booker, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Reed, Mrs. Gillibrand, 
  Mr. Casey, Mr. Brown, Ms. Hassan, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. 
Heinrich, Ms. Warren, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Markey, Ms. Baldwin, 
Mr. Wyden, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Whitehouse, 
Ms. Rosen, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Smith, Mr. King, Mr. Warner, Mr. Schatz, Ms. 
    Klobuchar, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Carper) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Encouraging the international community to remain committed to 
  collaboration and coordination to mitigate and prevent the further 
  spread of COVID-19 and urging renewed United States leadership and 
    participation in any global efforts on therapeutics and vaccine 
   development and delivery to address COVID-19 and prevent further 
                    deaths, and for other purposes.

Whereas there is a rich history of coordinated global health collaboration and 
        coordination, dating back to 1851, to strategically and effectively 
        combat deadly diseases of the time, such as the spread of plague;
Whereas the United States has long been an active and critical leader in such 
        global public health efforts, providing financial and technical support 
        to multilateral institutions, foreign governments, and nongovernmental 
        organizations;
Whereas international collaboration has led to a number of historic global 
        health achievements, including the eradication of smallpox, the 
        reduction of polio cases by 99 percent, the elimination of river 
        blindness, the decline in maternal and child mortality, the recognition 
        of tobacco as a health hazard, and countless others;
Whereas there has been bipartisan support in the United States to lead efforts 
        to address global health needs, as evidenced by initiatives such as the 
        President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the President's 
        Malaria Initiative;
Whereas, most recently, the United States led the global effort to stem the 
        spread of Ebola, thereby avoiding a global pandemic and American deaths;
Whereas these bipartisan investments in global health have helped not only save 
        countless lives around the world, but also at home in the United States;
Whereas an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified 
        in December 2019, with a global pandemic declaration by the World Health 
        Organization on March 11, 2020;
Whereas at least 82,400 individuals in the United States are known to have died 
        due to COVID-19 as of May 13, 2020, and a long-term, sustainable 
        solution will require international access to a vaccine;
Whereas the COVID-19 outbreak continues to place extreme pressure on health care 
        systems and supply chains worldwide, impacting international travel, 
        trade, and all other aspects of international exchanges, and requiring a 
        coordinated global effort;
Whereas the interconnectivity of our globalized world means an infectious 
        disease can travel around the world in as little as 36 hours;
Whereas United States Federal agencies have engaged in and supported certain 
        research and clinical trial efforts into coronaviruses, which may yield 
        potential discoveries related to vaccine candidates;
Whereas domestic and domestically supported vaccine candidates for COVID-19 only 
        comprise a small fraction of the potential COVID-19 vaccine candidates 
        undergoing studies worldwide;
Whereas only international collaboration and coordination can ensure equitable 
        access to safe, effective, and affordable therapeutics and vaccines, 
        thereby saving Americans and others around the world;
Whereas the United States has not yet joined ``Solidarity'', an international 
        clinical trial to rapidly identify effective treatments for COVID-19;
Whereas the United States has not yet joined the Coalition for Epidemic 
        Preparedness Innovations, an innovative global partnership which works 
        to accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious 
        diseases and enable equitable access to these vaccines for people during 
        outbreaks;
Whereas United States opposition to stronger international efforts to combat 
        COVID-19 has created a rift within the Group of 20 and undermined such 
        collective efforts and possible access for the United States to their 
        successes;
Whereas, on April 24, 2020, the United States declined to participate in a 
        virtual event led by a number of multilateral institutions, government 
        leaders, and public health and industry leaders from around the world to 
        accelerate new COVID-19 health technologies;
Whereas, on May 4, 2020, the United States declined to participate in a 
        subsequent virtual summit led by the President of the European 
        Commission, where nations around the world--excluding the United 
        States--pledged more than $8,000,000,000 to quickly develop vaccines and 
        treatment to fight COVID-19; and
Whereas, on June 4, 2020, the United Kingdom will host another virtual 
        international summit on accelerating the development of a vaccine for 
        COVID-19, including to support GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the historic leadership role of the United 
        States in stemming global health crises in the past;
            (2) commends the historic achievements of the international 
        community in addressing global public health crises, such as 
        the eradication of smallpox and dramatic progress in reducing 
        cases of polio and Ebola;
            (3) encourages the international community to remain 
        committed to collaboration and coordination to mitigate and 
        prevent the further spread of COVID-19;
            (4) commends the promising research underway to develop 
        COVID-19 therapies and a vaccine within the United States and 
        with support from Federal agencies;
            (5) acknowledges the vast international research enterprise 
        and collaboration underway to study an expansive range of drug 
        and vaccine candidates;
            (6) urges renewed United States leadership and 
        participation in any global efforts on therapeutics and vaccine 
        development and delivery to address COVID-19 and prevent 
        further American deaths; and
            (7) calls on the United States Government to boost funding 
        for, and strengthen collaboration with, key multilateral 
        institutions at the forefront of responding to COVID-19 such as 
        the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations; GAVI, the 
        Vaccine Alliance; and the Solidarity trial.
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