[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1519 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1519
To provide justice for victims of foreign state misrepresentation to
the World Health Organization, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 9, 2023
Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. Burgess) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide justice for victims of foreign state misrepresentation to
the World Health Organization, 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 ``Compensation for the Victims of
State Misrepresentations to the World Health Organization Act of
2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) There is a role for an international organization to
help mitigate infectious diseases that respect no boundaries.
(2) The United States depends on an effective World Health
Organization (WHO) to make good, well informed, and transparent
public health decisions to contain infectious diseases.
(3) In the past, the WHO played a critical role in
addressing and mitigating infectious diseases, such as the 1979
eradication of smallpox, which eradication the WHO coordinated
through a sustained global effort.
(4) Without accurate information, the WHO cannot advise
Member States properly on the risks posed by infectious
diseases.
(5) There are credible reports that in 2006, 2009, and 2011
the Government of Ethiopia misrepresented the nature and
seriousness of cholera epidemics in that country to the WHO
with a view towards minimizing the potential damage to their
economy.
(A) Those misrepresentations diminished the WHO's
effectiveness and the WHO transmitted inaccurate and
misleading information regarding the presence of
cholera to participating states.
(B) Other Member States relied on the misleading
and inaccurate information that the WHO communicated to
them to formulate public health policy, resulting in
loss of life, injury, and damage to property and
commercial interests to citizens outside of Ethiopia as
a consequence of that country's misrepresentations to
the WHO.
(6) There are credible reports that WHO Member States
misrepresented facts concerning the Ebola outbreak to that
organization with a view towards minimizing the commercial
impact that a widely disseminated understanding of the risks
posed by the Ebola epidemic may have caused in their individual
economies.
(A) Those misrepresentations diminished the WHO's
effectiveness, and the WHO transmitted inaccurate and
misleading information regarding the communicability of
Ebola to participating States.
(B) Other Member States relied on the misleading
and inaccurate information that the WHO communicated to
them to formulate public health policy, resulting in
loss of life, injury, and damage to property and
commercial interests to citizens outside of the
misrepresenting States as a consequence of those
countries' misrepresentations to the WHO.
(7) During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, China
misrepresented the seriousness and nature of the novel
coronavirus to the WHO, with a view towards minimizing the
potential damage to their economy and international reputation.
(A) Those misrepresentations diminished the WHO's
effectiveness and the WHO transmitted inaccurate and
misleading information regarding the communicability of
the novel coronavirus to participating States.
(B) Other Member States relied on the misleading
and inaccurate information that the WHO communicated to
them to formulate public health policy, resulting in
loss of life, injury, and damage to property and
commercial interests to citizens outside of China as a
consequence of that country's misrepresentations to the
WHO.
(8) In failing to relay accurate information to Member
States particularly at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Director-General Tedros relied on false information provided by
the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party
that the virus either could not be transmitted human-to-human
or had a low rate of transmission, and based on such reliance,
failed to thoroughly investigate the origins of the COVID-19
virus as well as contrary evidence of whistleblowers such as Li
Wenliang regarding the virus's transmissibility and lethality,
thereby abetting the People's Republic of China's efforts to
suppress information regarding a global health emergency. To
date he has failed to hold the People's Republic of China
accountable to International Health Regulations, which apply to
all WHO members, and mandate accurate reporting of disease
outbreaks.
SEC. 3. RESPONSIBILITY OF FOREIGN STATES FOR LOSS OF LIFE, INJURY, OR
OTHER DAMAGES RESULTING FROM CERTAIN MISREPRESENTATIONS
TO THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION.
(a) In General.--Section 1605(a)(5) of title 28, United States
Code, is amended by striking ``in which money damages are sought
against a foreign state for personal injury or death, or damage to or
loss of property, occurring in the United States and caused by the
tortious act or omission of that foreign state or of any official or
employee of that foreign state while acting within the scope of his
office or employment;'' and inserting ``in which money damages are
sought against a foreign state, for personal injury or death, or damage
to or loss of property, occurring in the United States as a result of a
willful or grossly negligent misrepresentation of information to the
World Health Organization of the nature, seriousness, or
communicability of an infections disease or other tortious act or
omission of that foreign state or of any official or employee of that
foreign state while acting within the scope of his office or
employment;''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 1605(a)(5)(B) of title 28,
United States Code, is amended by striking ``misrepresentation,
deceit,''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall take
effect 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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