[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4929 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4929

 To require continued participation by the United States in the World 
              Health Organization, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 24, 2026

 Mrs. Shaheen (for herself, Mr. Booker, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Kaine, Mr. 
  Hickenlooper, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Coons, Mr. Padilla, Mr. 
 Murphy, Ms. Baldwin, and Mr. Merkley) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require continued participation by the United States in 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 TITLES.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Epidemic Barrier and Outbreak 
Leadership Act'' or the ``EBOLA Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics pose 
        significant threats to the national security, public health, 
        and economic well-being of the United States.
            (2) The 2026 Ebola Disease outbreak in Central and Eastern 
        Africa has rapidly spread across international borders and 
        resulted in more than 1,000 cases of the disease.
            (3) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention's model scenarios, without a strong public health 
        intervention, the current outbreak could become larger than the 
        outbreak in West Africa from 2014 to 2016 in which more than 
        11,000 people died.
            (4) Despite the need for continued reforms, the World 
        Health Organization serves as the principal international body 
        for disease surveillance, outbreak response coordination, and 
        public health information sharing.
            (5) Participation in the World Health Organization enhances 
        the ability of the United States to monitor emerging infectious 
        diseases, coordinate with international partners, and protect 
        the health of the American people.
            (6) On January 20, 2025, President Trump initiated the 
        withdrawal of the United States from the World Health 
        Organization through Executive Order 14155 (90 Fed. Reg. 8361), 
        which was completed on January 22, 2026.
            (7) In previous public health emergencies of international 
        concern, the United States has consistently communicated with 
        representatives of the World Health Organization, other 
        multilateral health agencies, and the governments of other 
        countries to ensure United States global health funding was 
        targeted, coordinated, and efficient.

SEC. 3. PARTICIPATION IN THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION.

    The President, in coordination with the Secretary of State, shall--
            (1) take all necessary steps for the United States to 
        rejoin the World Health Organization not later than 30 days 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act; and
            (2) immediately collaborate with the World Health 
        Organization to respond to the Ebola Disease outbreak in 
        Central and Eastern Africa.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act, including--
            (1) paying assessed contributions and any other financial 
        obligations to restore United States membership in the World 
        Health Organization; and
            (2) supporting the response effort of the World Health 
        Organization and other United Nations entities to the Ebola 
        Disease epidemic in Central and Eastern Africa, including 
        through voluntary contributions and programmatic support, in 
        order to prevent global transmission of the virus, including 
        transmission to the people and territory of the United States.
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