[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

[[Page S4356]]

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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