WASHINGTON, D.C. — Eagle Forum, together with a group of patriotic public policy-minded leaders, organizations, and influential individuals have called on congressional Republican leaders to include language, passed by the House of Representatives, that will deny funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) and require that any further funding be conditioned on approval by the Senate of the international agreements that are now being stealthily negotiated by the WHO.
The letter with 62 signatures was sponsored by the Sovereignty Coalition as part of its opposition to the Biden administration’s effort to surrender U.S. sovereignty, States’ rights, and Americans’ medical freedoms to the World Health Organization. That would be the effect of a package of amendments to the existing International Health Regulations and a new Pandemic Agreement, both of which are — according to the Congressional Research Service — treaties under international law, and as such must be submitted to the Senate. Eagle Forum is a steering committee member of the Sovereignty Coalition.
The Biden administration has no plans to allow the constitutional ratification process to apply to these treaties or to enable the American people and their elected representatives an opportunity to examine and debate their contents. For these reasons, the House passed restrictions on funding for the World Health Organization in the Fiscal Year 2024 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill.
The Sovereignty Coalition letter reads in part:
These agreements, separate and together, will negatively impact U.S. sovereignty by removing decision-making over public health issues from our government (federal, state, and local) and giving that authority to the Director-General of the WHO. They also expand the definition of “public health” to include pandemics and any issue with the potential to affect global public health, including climate change, immigration, and gun violence, all guided by the policy of equity.
Both the Biden administration and the WHO refuse to characterize either of them as “treaties” to circumvent the U.S. ratification process. However, according to the Congressional Research Service, for purposes of international law, both are treaties.
If Congress does not act now to slow down the process and demand Senate action, the United States will be bound by these documents this year. Because of the time-sensitive nature of the process, we implore you to include these House-passed provisions (H.R. 4665 §7048 (k)(l)) in the final appropriations bill to protect the sovereignty and medical freedom of the United States and its citizens.
In just 11 weeks, the World Health Assembly, the negotiating body of the World Health Organization, is scheduled to approve both the new Pandemic Treaty and the amendments to the International Health Regulations. Taken together, these instruments will allow the WHO Director-General to mandate the world’s responses to Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC). Currently, the Director-General can only make non-binding recommendations. In addition, the international agreements expand the authority to any situation that may potentially impact global public health, including climate change, gun violence, and inequitable access to food, drugs, and health care.
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