U.S. Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, both R-WY, joined Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) and 12 of their colleagues in introducing a resolution to ensure the president does not endanger the health and safety of the people of Wyoming by ceding U.S. sovereignty to entities like the World Health Organization (WHO) by ratifying international pandemic agreements without Senate approval.
“The World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly failed to prevent, detect, and respond to severe infectious diseases. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO refused to hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for its role in the spread of the disease and false information. The United States should never give unchecked power to such a flawed and failed organization for any health emergency,” said Senator Barrasso. “Our resolution ensures the U.S. never surrenders its independence to the WHO.”
“America was founded on self-governance and it is fundamentally against our core principles to allow a global organization, such as the World Health Organization, control over our health emergency policy, especially given its ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” said Senator Lummis. “This resolution reiterates that the president is required to follow the law and obtain approval from the Senate to enter new foreign agreements and treaties.”
The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the decision-making body of the WHO. Following a decision by the WHA during its special session in December 2021, an intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) was formed to draft an international agreement to strengthen international pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. The INB has developed a working draft for further negotiation and is expected to deliver a final agreement by May 2024.
Full text of the resolution can be found here.
