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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E399]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AMERICA'S GLOBAL LEADERSHIP DURING COVID-19
______
HON. STEVE CHABOT
of ohio
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I want to thank Congressman Bera and
Congressman Yoho, two of my colleagues on the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, for hosting this virtual special order today on the
importance of strong U.S. global leadership with regard to the
coronavirus.
The coronavirus is reminding us that diseases and their impacts know
no borders, making it critical that the United States show leadership
during the pandemic, and also afterwards to get the global economy back
on track as well as prepare for the next outbreak. There is no reason
to assume there will not be future outbreaks, and, as the world becomes
more interconnected, we need to be prepared so that the next outbreak
does not become a pandemic like the coronavirus.
This is where the Global Health Security Act, legislation that my
friend Gerry Connolly and I authored, can make an impact. And I want to
thank him for his leadership in moving this legislation forward.
The Global Health Security Act would help the Federal Government
prepare for the next pandemic both by codifying critical aspects of the
interagency coordination process for global health security and also
put the Congressional stamp of approval on the Global Health Security
Agenda (GHSA).
The GHSA is an oddly-named multilateral initiative which seeks to
strengthen health systems around the world. It focuses on public health
issues of top international concern such as biosafety and biosecurity,
immunization, health monitoring, zoonotic diseases, and healthcare
worker training. Many of these priority areas are critical to fighting
not only the coronavirus but also any infectious disease that emerges
after we have contained the current outbreak.
The Obama Administration helped set up the GHSA in the face of
sluggish implementation of international guidelines for health systems
around the world and poor international leadership in response to the
Ebola crisis in West Africa in 2014. The Trump Administration has
enthusiastically carried on U.S. leadership through the GHSA, pledging
substantial U.S. funding toward its implementation. The GHSA is
something which both parties can be proud of.
Americans are rightly skeptical of the efficacy of multilateral
organizations. Since an illness is one short plane ride away, however,
investments in disease detection and public health capacity in other
countries directly support our own health security right here in
America. If we don't address and prepare for diseases abroad, we will
have to address them at home.
That is why I am proud that the Global Health Security Act passed the
Foreign Affairs Committee in February with unanimous support. By
passing this legislation Congress will demonstrate a strong commitment
to global health security leadership.
For better or worse, the United States does not have a choice on
whether we step up and lead on the coronavirus and future pandemics. As
we have seen, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has covered up, and
still is covering up, critical information about the early stages of
the disease and its origins. This allowed the virus to become a global
pandemic. In China, everyone's health and wellbeing are subservient to
the political goals of the CCP. We must ensure that the CCP does not
take global health leadership. If it does, it will not just be the
people of China whose health is subject to the political calculus of an
authoritarian political system, it will be all people around the world,
including here in America.
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