[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 80 (Tuesday, April 28, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E399]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              AMERICA'S GLOBAL LEADERSHIP DURING COVID-19

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                           HON. STEVE CHABOT

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 28, 2020

  Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I want to thank Congressman Bera and 
Congressman Yoho, two of my colleagues on the House Foreign Affairs 
Committee, for hosting this virtual special order today on the 
importance of strong U.S. global leadership with regard to the 
coronavirus.
  The coronavirus is reminding us that diseases and their impacts know 
no borders, making it critical that the United States show leadership 
during the pandemic, and also afterwards to get the global economy back 
on track as well as prepare for the next outbreak. There is no reason 
to assume there will not be future outbreaks, and, as the world becomes 
more interconnected, we need to be prepared so that the next outbreak 
does not become a pandemic like the coronavirus.
  This is where the Global Health Security Act, legislation that my 
friend Gerry Connolly and I authored, can make an impact. And I want to 
thank him for his leadership in moving this legislation forward.
  The Global Health Security Act would help the Federal Government 
prepare for the next pandemic both by codifying critical aspects of the 
interagency coordination process for global health security and also 
put the Congressional stamp of approval on the Global Health Security 
Agenda (GHSA).
  The GHSA is an oddly-named multilateral initiative which seeks to 
strengthen health systems around the world. It focuses on public health 
issues of top international concern such as biosafety and biosecurity, 
immunization, health monitoring, zoonotic diseases, and healthcare 
worker training. Many of these priority areas are critical to fighting 
not only the coronavirus but also any infectious disease that emerges 
after we have contained the current outbreak.
  The Obama Administration helped set up the GHSA in the face of 
sluggish implementation of international guidelines for health systems 
around the world and poor international leadership in response to the 
Ebola crisis in West Africa in 2014. The Trump Administration has 
enthusiastically carried on U.S. leadership through the GHSA, pledging 
substantial U.S. funding toward its implementation. The GHSA is 
something which both parties can be proud of.
  Americans are rightly skeptical of the efficacy of multilateral 
organizations. Since an illness is one short plane ride away, however, 
investments in disease detection and public health capacity in other 
countries directly support our own health security right here in 
America. If we don't address and prepare for diseases abroad, we will 
have to address them at home.
  That is why I am proud that the Global Health Security Act passed the 
Foreign Affairs Committee in February with unanimous support. By 
passing this legislation Congress will demonstrate a strong commitment 
to global health security leadership.
  For better or worse, the United States does not have a choice on 
whether we step up and lead on the coronavirus and future pandemics. As 
we have seen, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has covered up, and 
still is covering up, critical information about the early stages of 
the disease and its origins. This allowed the virus to become a global 
pandemic. In China, everyone's health and wellbeing are subservient to 
the political goals of the CCP. We must ensure that the CCP does not 
take global health leadership. If it does, it will not just be the 
people of China whose health is subject to the political calculus of an 
authoritarian political system, it will be all people around the world, 
including here in America.

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