Should the U.S. treat international pandemic agreements as formal treaties requiring Senate approval?
H.R 1425 mandates that any international agreement on pandemic-related issues negotiated by the World Health Assembly (WHA) be treated as a treaty, thus requiring the advice and consent of the Senate with a two-thirds majority. The bill applies specifically to agreements crafted by the International Negotiating Body (INB), established by the WHA in 2021 to enhance global pandemic preparedness and response. Citing concerns over the World Health Organization’s (WHO) alleged mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bill reflects skepticism about WHO leadership and the influence of member states, particularly the People’s Republic of China. H.R. 1425 states that any agreements established by the INB, which empowers the WHO to coordinate global health efforts, should not be agreed to or implemented by the United States without securing the required two-thirds approval from the Senate. Sponsor: Rep. Tom Tiffany (Republican, Wisconsin, District 7)
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Opponents say
• "While framed as an effort to increase Congressional oversight, this measure is aimed at effectuating a policy with which Republican members disagree by hampering current U.S. multilateral diplomatic efforts to reach a Pandemic Agreement– a process that has already been faced with an avalanche of malign mis- and disinformation…The draft Pandemic Agreement, currently being negotiated among WHO members, including the United States, helps coordinate a global response to public health threats that knows no borders, strengthens the global health workforce, improves distribution of medical countermeasures, and provides funding for WHO members to improve their response capacity…This bill undermines diplomatic efforts seeking to strengthen global health security, and House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats unanimously opposed this measure." Source: Rep. Gregory Meeks (Democrat, New York, District 5), on behalf of House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats
Proponents say
international bureaucrats at the World Health Organization and United Nations. The WHO has repeatedly shown that they cannot be trusted to carry out an effective pandemic response. Today, the House Foreign Affairs Committee took an important step to protect American sovereignty." Source: Rep. Tom Tiffany (Republican, Wisconsin), sponsor of H.R. 1425
• "Actions by the WHO over the past two years, particularly in terms of the pandemic and abortion, raise serious questions about whether it operates as a truly independent body that ultimately benefits the American people. I know many Mississippians are vexed that Congress can’t act to stop some of the egregious decisions coming out of the WHO. In representing the American people, the Senate should have a role in determining whether our nation should be subjected to its biased or more controversial actions. The WHO, along with our federal health agencies, failed miserably in its response to COVID-19. Its failure should not be rewarded with a new international treaty that would increase its power at the expense of American sovereignty. What WHO does need is greater accountability and transparency. This bill makes clear to the Biden administration that any new WHO pandemic agreement must be deemed a treaty and submitted to the Senate for ratification. The sovereignty of the United States is not negotiable." Source: Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (Republican, Mississippi, District 7)
- Tiffany’s Legislation Requiring Senate Approval of Any World Health Organization Treaty Passes Out of House Committee (Press)
- H.R. 1425 Cost Estimate (Congressional Budget Office)
- The Pandemic Agreement: Why What Has Been Achieved So Far Matters (Health Policy Watch)
- WHO ‘pandemic treaty’ draft doesn’t sign over US sovereignty (AP News)
- Draft “Pandemic Treaty” Fails to Protect Rights (Human Rights Watch)
- Rep. Tom Tiffany’s Largest Donors (OpenSecrets)
