[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 80 (Tuesday, April 28, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E400]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              AMERICA'S GLOBAL LEADERSHIP DURING COVID-19

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. ABIGAIL DAVIS SPANBERGER

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 28, 2020

  Ms. SPANBERGER. Madam Speaker, as the world faces the unprecedented 
challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. leadership in the 
global response is essential. Thank you to my colleague from 
California, Congressman Bera, and my colleague from Florida, 
Congressman Yoho, for leading a Congressional special order so that 
Members who represent communities across America can reiterate this 
point clearly.
  I serve on the Asia Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs 
Committee, which Representatives Bera and Yoho lead as Chairman and 
Ranking Member. Our Subcommittee held our first hearing on the 
coronavirus outbreak in China in early February and our second one 
later that month. What we heard during these hearings from public 
health experts and administration officials reaffirmed something we 
already knew: The United States needed to demonstrate leadership in the 
international response in order to keep Americans safe.
  Since these hearings, this horrible disease has ravaged families and 
communities in the United States and around the world, including in 
Central Virginia. The death toll, as well as the impact on our way of 
life, has been heartbreaking. Every day, I speak with Central 
Virginians who are experiencing this pain. As we do everything we can 
to halt the spread and impact of the virus in our local communities and 
across our nation, we must also recognize that U.S. leadership in the 
global fight against coronavirus is an essential part of ending the 
suffering at home.
  The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that infectious diseases know 
no borders. An outbreak in a remote village can spread to major cities 
across all populated continents on earth in less than 36 hours. Even 
once we have more thorough testing and U.S. towns begin to see dropping 
numbers of cases, the disease could easily return. No matter how 
successful we are in fighting the threat of COVID-19 at home, we will 
not end the suffering and fear created by the virus unless we also 
combat it around the world.
  This is exactly why global health experts, as well as foreign policy 
and military leaders, are speaking out--calling on U.S. government 
officials to lead by example and demonstrate leadership on the global 
stage. If our nation cedes international leadership, we are demoting 
our international standing, creating a void that our adversaries will 
fill and exploit, and most critically, we are risking the safety and 
livelihoods of Americans.
  In addition, the pandemic is an incredibly painful reminder that, at 
the end of the day, U.S. national security comes down to resilience at 
home. As we face international threats, including infectious disease, 
we are only as strong and prepared as our most vulnerable neighbors and 
our most susceptible systems. The coronavirus pandemic highlights that 
national security is much more than what typically comes to mind--it 
includes our medical supply chains, the safety of American workers, and 
so much more. It includes emerging, transnational threats such as 
climate change and the COVID-19 virus--a disease that at any moment now 
is expected to cause a death toll surpassing the number of Americans 
who died in nearly a decade of fighting in Vietnam. Going forward, we 
must be prepared for the full range of risks to American security. And 
to do this, we must think of national security in a more comprehensive 
and integrated fashion, recognizing it is rooted in our strength at 
home and that the United States must lead on the global stage to 
provide the sense of security that so many Americans lack as they face 
disease and job loss.
  As we strengthen and implement our response to the COVID-19 pandemic 
and prepare for future threats, we must recognize that U.S. global 
leadership is essential to protecting the health, security, and 
economic interests of all Americans. We cannot step back from this 
challenge; we must step up.

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