August 1, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 131 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages S5294-S5295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     EBOLA ERADICATION ACT OF 2019

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise today to draw attention to the 
growing risks of an Ebola epidemic in Central Africa and to urge the 
Senate to take up and pass S. 1340, my bipartisan bill authorizing 
USAID to combat the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the 
Congo. This legislation passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 
in June, and it is time for the full Senate to act.
  On July 17, the World Health Organization declared this Ebola 
outbreak a ``public health emergency of international concern,'' with 
experts predicting the outbreak will last well into 2020.
  The Democratic Republic of the Congo, or the DRC, as it is known, has 
been battling an Ebola outbreak for exactly 1 year as of today. Despite 
the best efforts of the Congolese, the World Health Organization, and 
international partners, this outbreak is now the second worst in 
history. More than 1,800 people are dead and more than 2,600 confirmed 
and probable cases have been identified.
  It took just over 7 months to reach 1,000 cases of Ebola, but only 2 
months to reach 2,000. According to the World Health Organization, up 
to 25 percent of all infections may be going unreported.
  The scope of the outbreak continues to grow. Just today, press 
reports indicate that there is a third case in the city of Goma, home 
to over 1 million people.
  Imagine the consequences of an unrestrained outbreak in a city of 
over 1 million people. Under the best of circumstances, it would be 
difficult, but not impossible, to control the outbreak. However, we are 
not dealing with ideal circumstances. Today's Ebola outbreak is 
unfolding amid a noxious mix of political mistrust and overall 
insecurity.
  Consider that eastern Congo has been plagued for years by armed 
opposition groups and militias. Dozens of armed groups opposed to the 
government operate in the areas most affected by Ebola, periodically 
preventing health officials from reaching communities in need of 
treatment and prevention. Likewise, criminal gangs operating with near 
impunity have made it dangerous for healthcare workers to travel to 
Ebola-affected villages without security.
  To complicate things further, we have witnessed community resistance 
specifically to the Ebola response. Long marginalized by the capital of 
the DRC, Kinshasa, communities in eastern Congo remain skeptical that 
the crisis is real. They fear the government is using the disease as 
another tool of disenfranchising them, especially after the former 
government canceled elections. Some actors even oppose medical 
interventions and promote disinformation and conspiracy theories 
questioning the existence of the Ebola outbreak.
  To date, there have been more than 100 attacks on health facilities, 
severely hampering the response of the DRC and the international 
community. Misinformation, mistrust of the government, and fear of 
violence at health centers has resulted in between 25 and 50 percent of 
new Ebola deaths taking place outside treatment facilities. This means 
infectious patients are less likely to receive lifesaving treatment and 
more likely to infect others.
  We no longer have the luxury of half-hearted international 
engagement. We need a multifaceted, multisectoral, international 
response to get this under control. We know all too well that 
infectious diseases have no borders. It is one airplane flight away 
from coming to our own country. That has happened in the past.
  It is in our national and international interest to ensure the United 
States uses every resource available to get this outbreak under 
control. To date, however, the White House response has not only been 
inadequate but downright counterproductive.
  In early May, USAID developed a new strategy focusing on basic 
assistance for disenfranchised communities to help build trust and 
improve access for healthcare workers. This strategy would, for 
example, support health interventions for anyone who comes to a 
healthcare center in need of care, even if not totally related to 
Ebola.
  USAID also proposed new programs to increase education, provide clean 
water and sanitation in communities, and improve conditions in Ebola-
affected communities. These programs were designed to build trust and 
promote resilience in at-risk communities so that health workers can 
better stop the spread of the disease.
  These were good ideas. Instead of embracing them, the administration 
has effectively tied its own hands in promoting a sensible, sustainable 
response to the Ebola crisis.
  As we all know, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which I have 
been a champion of on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, having 
worked with the former chairman, Bob Corker, who felt passionately 
about these issues, railed against the administration when they didn't 
put countries in tier 3, the most significant consequence under our 
law, because they were playing politics with that country for other 
reasons and not observing the essence of the law, and made sure that 
the TIP Report was transparent and honest in its assessments. So I am 
supportive of the harsh sanctions for countries that fail to adequately 
combat human trafficking.
  As a tier 3 country under the law, the DRC is therefore severely 
restricted from receiving U.S. aid. But let's use some common sense 
here. This legislation was never, never intended to hurt the most 
vulnerable in society or to be used as an excuse to ignore a deadly 
epidemic with international implications. In fact, Congress foresaw the 
need for exceptions to these sanctions in extraordinary cases in 22 
USC, chapter 78, section 4 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. 
This language that I just cited allows the United States to waive 
sanctions and provide assistance when it is in our national interest to 
do so. Indeed, the law specifically says: ``The President shall 
exercise the authority''--shall exercise the authority--``under section 
(4) when necessary to avoid significant adverse effects on vulnerable 
populations, including women and children.''
  According to the World Health Organization, the Ebola virus disease 
has a 50-percent mortality rate. No one can deny its effects on 
vulnerable populations. If the people of eastern Congo, including women 
and children, are not vulnerable, then I don't know who is.
  Yet the White House has refused to exercise the waiver. That is why 
we need the Ebola Eradication Act. This simple legislation directs the 
USAID Administrator to immediately provide assistance, including 
multisectoral, nonhumanitarian, and nontrade related foreign 
assistance, to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other 
vulnerable countries to effectively combat the Ebola outbreak, 
notwithstanding the sanctions required by the Trafficking and Victims 
Protection Act.
  Make no mistake, President Trump could have done this himself months 
ago. But as a Bloomberg editorial published today points out, President 
Trump has failed to respond with urgency. As a result, needless delays 
and inaction have hampered our response.
  In mid-June, the administration had granted exceptions for all Ebola-
related activities proposed under USAID's new plan, but they have yet 
to be launched. To make matters worse, those exceptions were granted 
only for fiscal year 2018 money.
  Finally, the exception is not a country waiver, creating loads of 
redtape for future activities related to combating Ebola. In other 
words, we are shooting ourselves in the foot with unnecessary 
bureaucratic hurdles that serve no purpose and slow down our response 
even as the disease continues to kill more and more people.
  Fortunately, the DRC and bordering countries, together with the World 
Health Organization, have lessened the overall impact by successfully 
vaccinating more than 120,000 people. They have also administered 
experimental treatment regimens to over 300 people, which, if caught in 
time, can save more lives. But this is a case where, in fact, America 
can and must do more.
  While there is no magic wand we can wave to change the security 
situation,

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we can certainly step up the U.S. response and our support for local 
and international efforts. We have a moral obligation to help contain 
and combat this outbreak before it becomes an epidemic. Likewise, we 
have an obligation to protect the safety and security of the American 
public. Our goal must be to save lives and prevent the spread of Ebola 
before it stands a chance of reaching America's shores. Ultimately, we 
ignore the tragedy unfolding in the Congo at our own peril. It is time 
for this body to act.
  USAID Administrator Mark Green testified in front of the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee earlier this year and expressed strong 
support for this legislation as it is currently written.
  I urge my colleagues to work with me in passing S. 1340, the Ebola 
Eradication Act of 2019, as it is currently drafted and as the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee passed it in June.
  This is an opportunity to ultimately save lives. It is an 
opportunity--something we don't always get in this Chamber--for us to 
actually save lives. It is an opportunity to stop an epidemic. It is an 
opportunity to preserve our own interests by making sure Ebola doesn't 
come to the shores of the United States. It should be a no-brainer.
  I hope we can work through the one objection I understand that exists 
with our colleague from Utah so that we can actually control the 
epidemic, save lives, and ultimately ensure our own interests.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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