April 28, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 80 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E401]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              AMERICA'S GLOBAL LEADERSHIP DURING COVID-19

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                           HON. LOIS FRANKEL

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 28, 2020

  Ms. FRANKEL. Madam Speaker, in my travels around the world as a 
Member of Congress one thing has become abundantly clear. Advancing 
prosperity and stability internationally is not just a moral 
imperative, it's a national imperative--because instability anywhere is 
a threat to stability everywhere.
  Human rights violations, terrorism, and infectious diseases don't 
stop at the border. We have seen that tragic reality reinforced through 
genocide, international terrorism, and global pandemics.
  So what is the lesson as we fight COVID-19?
  No matter how successful we are in combatting this pandemic here at 
home, we will never fully stop it unless we also combat it around the 
world. After all, we saw COVID-19 jump from Wuhan, to Westminster, to 
West Palm, in a matter of weeks. Outbreaks in remote villages don't 
stay in remote villages. According to the CDC, 70 percent of the world 
remains underprepared to prevent, detect, and respond to any public 
health emergency.
  So while there is still so much more we need to do domestically to 
safeguard the lives and livelihoods of the American public, part of 
that effort needs to focus on U.S. global leadership to fight this 
disease and future pandemics.
  America remains the world's most critical defender of human rights 
and prosperity around the globe. And that role is needed now more than 
ever.
  Before this pandemic, millions were already fleeing war and 
persecution in countries around the world, including the devastating 
impacts in Syria. And COVID-19 is now a force multiplier, increasing 
the risk of violence, displacement, hunger, and suffering.
  It is crucial that we support the State Department, USAID, the World 
Health Organization, and others on the frontlines responding to this 
pandemic and advancing American interests around the world every day.
  More emergency funding is needed for the International Affairs Budget 
to support the global response to combat this pandemic.

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