[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 21, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4355-S4356]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
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SENATE RESOLUTION 653--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT A UNITED
STATES WITHDRAWAL FROM THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION UNDERMINES UNITED
STATES GLOBAL HEALTH LEADERSHIP AND THE INTERNATIONAL COVID-19 RESPONSE
Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Brown, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Van
Hollen, Mr. Coons, Mr. Carper, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Casey, Mrs. Murray, Mr.
Heinrich, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Bennet, Mrs.
Feinstein, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Reed, Mr. Udall, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms.
Warren, Mr. Murphy, Ms. Smith, Mr. King, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Booker,
Ms. Hirono, Ms. Rosen, and Mr. Merkley) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:
S. Res. 653
Whereas United States contributions to the World Health
Organization (WHO) are leveraged with contributions from
other countries, the private sector, and foundations to
advance longstanding United States global health priorities;
Whereas the WHO was founded in 1948 with United States help
and has been at the forefront of major global health
achievements in the last 72 years, including the eradication
of polio, because of United States financial and diplomatic
support;
Whereas the United States has consistently been the largest
donor to the WHO in recognition of its vital role in saving
lives, improving global disease detection, and coordinating a
global public health response;
Whereas the WHO is able to implement health programs in
places the United States Government cannot as effectively
operate in, including Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo;
Whereas the WHO leads polio surveillance, immunization, and
technical support, and is able to reach remote areas in
countries where polio still exists;
Whereas the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
works with the WHO to enhance programs and policies in areas,
including laboratory capacity, prevention of mother to child
transmission of HIV, health system strengthening, prevention
of tuberculosis infections, and counseling and testing;
Whereas the United States is home to 83 different WHO
collaborating centers, more than 20 of which are at the
Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of
Health;
Whereas the WHO, following the 2014 West African Ebola
outbreak, undertook a series of reforms to strengthen its
health emergencies program and response in large part due to
United States involvement;
Whereas the WHO is leading the global response to the
COVID-19 pandemic with its technical, communications, and
organizational capacities in 150 countries;
Whereas the WHO is coordinating an unprecedented global
clinical trial, known as the ``Solidarity Trial'', to
evaluate the safety and effectiveness of 4 drug treatment
combinations against COVID-19, involving more than 100
countries, 400 hospitals, and more than 3,500 patients;
Whereas the WHO is leading the global effort to supply
health commodities and is coordinating the United Nations
Global Supply Chain Task Force, which is working with the
private sector, the World Food Programme, and the European
Central Bank to establish an emergency supply chain for low-
resource countries;
Whereas at least 135 countries rely on the WHO to procure
millions of pieces of personal protective equipment and other
vital health commodities like tests and testing supplies;
Whereas the WHO is the only organization with the legal
mandate and capacity to gather public health data from any
country in the world and use it to quickly develop and
disseminate technical guidance to help countries prepare
public health responses;
Whereas the WHO, through a partnership with member states,
major donors, and private sector partners called the ACT
Accelerator, is already working to pre-position manufacturing
capacity and distribution channels to ensure that all
countries have access to future therapies and vaccines faster
and at a fair price;
Whereas the Trump Administration froze funding to the WHO
pending a ``60 to 90 day review'' on April 14, 2020, but
without any disclosure of the review's findings, gave the WHO
30 days to make unspecified reforms on May 19, 2020, and
then, 11 days later, announced the United States would
withdraw from the WHO;
Whereas, on June 25, 2020, the Senate passed by unanimous
consent S. Res. 579, urging United States leadership and
participation in global efforts on therapeutics and vaccine
development and delivery to address COVID-19; and
Whereas, on July 6, 2020, the Trump Administration
officially submitted a formal letter to the United Nations
Secretary General to withdraw the United States from the WHO:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) withdrawing the United States from the World Health
Organization--
(A) undermines United States global health priorities and
threatens lives around the world and in the United States;
(B) risks weakening the global response to the COVID-19
pandemic;
(C) threatens United States humanitarian responses; and
(D) creates a vacuum of leadership at the WHO at a time
when it has been our expressed interest to counter China's
growing influence within the organization; and
(2) the World Health Assembly agreed by consensus to
appoint an interim assessment of the response to COVID-19,
and by remaining a member in good standing, the United States
will have the most leverage to advocate and put in place the
reforms necessary for the World Health Organization to
respond to this and future crises.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, we are in unprecedented times. Modem
transportation and communication technology make our world more
interconnected than it has ever been. These advancements, especially
international travel, create risks, as we have seen through the
devastating spread of the novel coronavirus all over the globe. But
close global connections also strengthen our capacity to work
collaboratively to tackle threats facing our communities. The COVID-19
pandemic is one such threat--it is a challenge that we will only be
able to overcome together. United Nations Secretary General Antonio
Guterres put it best when he said, ``We are only as strong as the
weakest health systems.''
President Trump's decision on July 6th to begin formally withdrawing
the United States from the World Health Organization, or the WHO, is
irrational, reckless, and simply the wrong thing to do. While the WHO
is not perfect, its technical capacities and relationship with nearly
every country in the world make it the best organization to manage the
response to a global pandemic like COVID-19. A few weeks ago, the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee heard from a panel of public health
experts who all spoke with one voice--leaving the WHO in the middle of
a global pandemic will not only compromise the international response
to COVID-19, it will put Americans' lives at risk.
Today, I am introducing a resolution with 28 co-sponsors that
expresses the sense of the Senate that withdrawing from the WHO
undermines U.S. global health leadership and the international COVID-19
response. This resolution recognizes that since the WHO was founded in
1948--with help from the United States--it has relied on U.S. support
to lead the world in disease detection and eradication and
strengthening health systems. The resolution also highlights the
significant benefit the U.S. gains by participating in the WHO,
including the ability to improve public health in regions of the world
that would be impossible to reach on our own.
Finally, the resolution highlights the lifesaving work of the WHO in
responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. This work includes convening an
unprecedented global clinical trial--the Solidarity Trial--to help find
an effective treatment for COVID-19; coordinating global supply chains
of personal protective equipment and other health commodities for more
than 135 countries; and pre-positioning manufacturing capacity and
distribution channels to ensure that all countries have access to
future therapies and vaccines faster and at a fair price. Last month,
the Senate unanimously passed a resolution urging U.S. participation in
global efforts on therapeutics and vaccine development and delivery to
address COVID-19. Leaving the WHO will make it drastically more
difficult to accomplish those goals.
The WHO has its flaws, but the United States is best positioned to
effect positive changes by maintaining our seat at the table.
Historically, we
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have been able to encourage the WHO to make important reforms, like
improvements to the organization's health emergencies program that were
undertaken following the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak. By
withdrawing from the WHO, we are forfeiting our voice in these
conversations and empowering countries that do not have our best
interests in mind. The international community, and especially the
American people, will suffer as a result.
For these reasons, I hope that I can count on the Senate's support
for this important resolution. If we are to be successful in the fight
against COVID-19 and any other pandemic health challenges we may
encounter, the U.S. cannot isolate itself from the rest of the world.
An isolationist stance will only lead to domestic and global failure.
With the pandemic raging in our own backyard, it is more important than
ever before for the United States to continue to collaborate with
countries around the world to end this global health emergency and
prevent future ones from starting. If I may paraphrase John Donne, no
nation--not even the United States--``is an island entire of itself.''
We are all ``part of the main'' and the bell tolls for all of us.
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