[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 149 (Tuesday, September 24, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6373-S6374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 846--COMMEMORATING THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
            ERADICATION OF WILD POLIOVIRUS FROM THE AMERICAS

  Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Reed, Ms. Sinema, Ms. 
Klobuchar, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Van Hollen, Mrs. Murray, Mr. 
Welch, and Mr. Booker) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 846

       Whereas nearly 60,000 children in the United States were 
     reported to have polio in 1952 alone, with more than 20,000 
     cases of paralysis;
       Whereas, thanks to vaccination, polio was eliminated from 
     the United States in 1979;
       Whereas the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), a 
     unique public-private partnership that includes the Federal 
     Government, Rotary International, the World Health 
     Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund 
     (commonly known as ``UNICEF''), the Bill and Melinda Gates 
     Foundation, and GAVI, was established in 1988 with a goal of 
     eradicating polio globally, at a time when there were more 
     than 350,000 cases of polio recorded annually;
       Whereas Rotary International, a global association founded 
     in Illinois, has contributed more than $2,700,000,000 and 
     volunteered countless hours in the global fight against polio 
     since 1979;
       Whereas, since the goal of global polio eradication was set 
     in 1988, incidences of polio have been reduced by more than 
     99.9 percent through the use of the inactivated polio vaccine 
     developed by Jonas Salk and the oral polio vaccine developed 
     by Albert Sabin;
       Whereas the Americas were the first region to be certified 
     free from wild poliovirus by the WHO in 1994, with the last 
     case of wild poliovirus in the Americas confirmed in Peru in 
     1991;
       Whereas, since 1994, 4 other regions of the world have been 
     certified free from wild poliovirus and 2 of the 3 strains of 
     wild poliovirus have been certified eradicated worldwide;
       Whereas, as of September 2024, only Afghanistan and 
     Pakistan have been unable to fully stop transmission of wild 
     poliovirus, a decrease from more than 125 countries in 1988;
       Whereas the GPEI reaches the world's most vulnerable 
     children, including those who have been displaced, living in 
     areas of insecurity or conflict, where cases of variant 
     poliovirus remain of concern;
       Whereas, as of September 2024, according to the Centers for 
     Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 20,000,000 
     people are walking who have been spared from paralysis and 
     1,500,000 deaths have been averted worldwide thanks to the 
     efforts of the GPEI;
       Whereas, in addition to combating polio, the global 
     workforce and infrastructure of the GPEI has frequently 
     served as first responders for natural disasters and other 
     public health crises, including outbreaks of Ebola and the 
     COVID-19 pandemic;
       Whereas, when polio is eradicated, it will be only the 
     second human disease in history to make such an achievement, 
     the first being smallpox;
       Whereas progress toward global polio eradication is a 
     testament to what can be achieved through sustained global 
     commitment and collaboration; and
       Whereas, as long as poliovirus circulates anywhere, it 
     remains a threat to children everywhere: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Americas being 
     certified polio-free by the World Health Organization on 
     September 29, 1994;
       (2) commends the work of the Pan American Health 
     Organization (PAHO) and its member states on keeping the 
     Americas wild poliovirus free;
       (3) supports the goals and ideals of the Global Polio 
     Eradication Initiative;
       (4) encourages and supports the international community of 
     governments and nongovernmental organizations in remaining 
     committed to the eradication of polio; and
       (5) encourages the Federal Government to continue 
     committing funding to the Global Polio Eradication 
     Initiative.

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