Friend –

I want to continue my updates from Washington on the global response to the coronavirus. I hope these updates are useful, and I encourage you to share your insights with me. 

To start, yesterday I was on Capitol Hill to testify before a key House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees international issues. You can read my full testimony here. 

As I arrived at the Rayburn Office Building, it clearly wasn’t business as usual – with witness chairs far apart and Members of Congress greeting one another with elbow bumps. It was surreal, as an hour after I departed, the announcement was made that the U.S. Capitol and congressional office buildings would be closed to visitors through April 1.

Underscoring the current pandemic, I spoke to the growing global threats facing the American people with Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), Ranking Members Hal Rogers (R-KY) and the other Committee members:

• "The coronavirus crisis is a stark reminder that a deadly threat anywhere is a deadly threat everywhere. Pulling back from the world is simply not an option."

I took the policymakers back 25 years to when the USGLC was founded:

• "The Cold War had ended – some citizens believed we could reap a peace dividend, questioning America’s role in the world. A few Members of Congress even bragged they didn’t own a passport!


• "It was a stark contrast from the Cold War when under President Reagan international affairs spending as a percentage of GDP reached an all-time high at 0.6%. Today we live in a far more complex and dangerous world – yet, that percentage is now down by more than half."

I closed by urging the lawmakers to not only support this year’s investments in diplomacy and development, but to address the long-term realities:

• "It’s time to seriously look at reversing this trend to protect America’s interests. I fear if we merely stay the course, we do so at our own peril."

Much more below in the latest GLOBAL GAB with updates from Washington on the global response to the coronavirus. 

And FYI, USGLC, like so many of our coalition partners, has closed our national office for the next two weeks. Our staff will be working remotely from home and is certainly available via email. Don’t hesitate to reach out. We’ve postponed all of our in-person events around the country through mid-April out of commitment to the safety and well-being of our greater community. We will be hosting relevant conversations online for interested parties. More information soon. 

Stay healthy and safe. 

Best,

Liz
Liz Schrayer, USGLC

THE GLOBAL GAB
March 13, 2019

A GLOBAL PANDEMIC. With the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring COVID-19 to be the first global pandemic since the H1N1 swine flu outbreak in 2009, here is the latest (though the stats are changing by the hour):

• The hopeful news: China has reported only 26 new cases in the last 24 hours as the country nears 81,000 reported cases.
  
  
• The bad news: Globally, more than 117 countries have reported cases of COVID-19, with the total number of cases increasing by 5% over just the last 24 hours to more than 125,000, according to the last WHO situation report. 


• As the crisis escalates rapidly in Europe, Italy’s population of 60 million is on lock-down and German Chancellor Angela Merkel warns that as much as 70% of Germany could become infected.


• For more, the USGLC is regularly updating our Coronavirus fact sheet.

VIRTUAL DIPLOMACY? As global meetings grind to a halt, Brookings expert Thomas Wright warned of the challenge in Foreign Policy Magazine: "Summits are forcing mechanisms for action, and in a crisis they take on an added importance. If you don’t have that, you’re more likely to just have more inertia."

• G7 GOING VIRTUAL. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus announced Wednesday that the upcoming G7 Foreign Ministers meeting – scheduled for March 24-25 in Pittsburgh – will be held virtually by video conference.


• UN NEW YORK. A Filipino diplomat at the United Nations has tested positive for coronavirus after attending meetings at the UN headquarters. The announcement followed the decision by the UN to close to the general public with many of its staff shifting to telework by next week.


• WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION. The global trade body has suspended all of its meetings until March 20 after one of its staff members tested positive. A June WTO meeting of health ministers is also expected to be postponed.


• BREXIT TALKS POSTPONED. Face-to-face negotiations on a Brexit deal between the United Kingdom and the European Union that were slated for next week in London have now been put on hold.

"RUNNING THE WORLD FROM HOME". CNN is reporting on the number of leaders and policymakers who are now self-quarantining after contact with someone who has tested positive. The growing list includes Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the president of the European Parliament, France's culture minister, and now at least 9 Members of Congress.

THE GLOBAL RESPONSE. Here’s the latest on commitments from the donor community and multilateral institutions:

• The World Bank announced $12 billion in financing to help countries to respond to the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak. Bank chief David Malpass told reporters, "We are working to provide a fast, flexible response based on developing country needs in dealing with the spread of COVID-19."


• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced a $50 billion commitment to financing for low income and emerging market countries in response to the coronavirus, including $10 billion in zero-interest loans to the poorest IMF country members.


• The State Department and USAID – with the support of new emergency funds approved by Congress – have committed more than $1.2 billion to the global response, including resources for embassy operations to help Americans, resources for the WHO global response and other impacted countries, investments in global health systems, and humanitarian assistance.


• The European Union has committed $140 million to the WHO emergency appeal and efforts in Africa.


• As the cases in China have slowed, the country has now sent a team of experts along with medical supplies and respirators to Italy.

SMART TWEET. Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass: "…there is no geopolitical timeout even if we feel overwhelmed by the #coronavirus. The problem is that there is little bandwidth to deal with any problem, be it with Iran or North Korea or Russia or China or anyone else, that arises." 

GATES + MASTERCARD. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was one of the first foundations to make a major announcement with its $100 million commitment to fight coronavirus. In addition, Mark Suzman of Gates and Mike Froman of Mastercard announced a new partnership to accelerate the development of treatments for COVID-19. See the story in Fortune. 

COVID-19 IN AFRICA. The coronavirus is affecting U.S. military operations with AFRICOM’s largest exercise on the continent drastically scaled back to minimize troops' potential exposure to the virus. So far there are reports of the virus in 12 countries on the continent with more than 100 cases in total. Egypt currently has the most confirmed cases at 67. 

FOR COUNTRY. Noting the threats of global pandemics alongside nuclear proliferation and violent extremism facing the United States, a new letter from a dozen members of the For Country Caucus calls on the House Appropriations Committee to provide "robust funding" for the Fiscal Year 2021 International Affairs Budget.

• Led by the Caucus leaders – Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Don Bacon (R-NE), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), and Michael Waltz (R-FL) – the veterans-turned-lawmakers write: "Confronting these challenges requires investing in a comprehensive set of national security tools – namely, development and diplomacy complement a strong national defense."

THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. With 2020 campaign events now on hold, both Democratic presidential candidates made major coronavirus speeches on Thursday from their hometowns: 

• Joe Biden called on the U.S. to draw "on the incredible capability of the U.S. Agency for International Development and our State Department to assist vulnerable nations in detecting and treating the coronavirus wherever it’s spreading. We should be investing in rebuilding and strengthening the global health security agenda" 


• Bernie Sanders gave a speech largely focused on the domestic U.S. response, but noted "it is an absolute moral imperative that our response as a government, as a society, as a business community, and as individual citizens meet the enormity of this crisis." 


• Reminder: In late January, Elizabeth Warren put out one of the more detailed campaign policy plans this cycle on global health security.


• Expect Sunday night’s debate to have a big focus on the coronavirus crisis and global health preparedness. And what was to be the Arizona primary debate hosted in Phoenix has now moved to a CNN studio in Washington.

END OF EBOLA? In one bit of good news, the last known Ebola patient was recently discharged from a treatment center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with no additional confirmed cases remaining in the country. This comes after an 18-month battle against the disease and more than 2,200 deaths. If no new infections emerge for two full incubation periods – 42 days – the WHO will declare the outbreak over.