He pointed to a series of ‘deeply problematic’ provisions in the treaty and said the United States shouldn’t seek closer ties with the WHO.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) is speaking out against the Biden administration’s effort to involve the United States in a treaty that would expand the power of the World Health Organization (WHO).
In a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, Mr. Roy denounced the proposal, which he said would infringe on U.S. sovereignty in favor of the Chinese Communist Party-linked international organization.
In March 2021, a group of international leaders proposed a new treaty to handle future pandemic preparedness and foster cooperation between international bodies, according to its supporters, including HHS and the State Department.
A draft version of the treaty is available online.
Critics such as Mr. Roy aren’t buying it, however.
“The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of State … should cease all efforts to further legitimize this corrupt body by crafting a new global pandemic treaty,” Mr. Roy wrote in his letter to Mr. Becerra.
Pointing to a series of “deeply problematic” provisions in the proposed treaty, he said the United States shouldn’t seek closer ties with the WHO.
For instance, one aspect of the treaty would mandate that members work together to “combat false, misleading, misinformation or disinformation.”
That provision and others, Mr. Roy wrote, “[stand] in opposition to our country’s founding principles” and would “stifle free speech.”
“Under no circumstances should we empower the bureaucrats in Geneva to govern the speech of American citizens,” he said.
Mr. Roy also noted an aspect of the treaty that would encourage member states to give away intellectual property and medical patents to developing nations—which would include China.
That provision “would disincentivize vital healthcare research and innovation,” he said.
“We should harness the power of America’s ingenuity—not stifle it to empower another international organization, let alone our adversaries like the CCP,” Mr. Roy wrote. “For these reasons and many others, the Biden administration should cease all attempts to make the United States a party to this agreement.”
By Joseph Lord
Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com
Rep. Roy calls on Biden administration to reject WHO pandemic agreement
January 22, 2024
WASHINGTON, DC — On Monday, Representative Chip Roy (TX-21) submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) urging HHS to reject a new pandemic treaty being negotiated at the World Health Organization (WHO).
Representative Roy wrote, “The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the corruption at the WHO, its deep-rooted ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and its stranglehold on the American public health regime.”
The congressman laid out several instances of blatant organizational corruption including the WHO ignoring Taiwan’s early warnings about the spread of COVID-19 and trumpeting CCP propaganda that there was “no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission.”
Representative Roy said, “Instead of holding the WHO accountable for its actions during COVID-19, the INB’s proposal would further empower it as the authority on ‘international health work’ with the power to craft global responses.”
Representative Roy also reminded HHS Secretary Becerra that Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution requires that treaties must be submitted to the Senate for advice and consent.
“Instead of further legitimizing the WHO by making the United States a party to a new pandemic treaty, the Biden administration should withdraw from this organization (as the previous administration wisely did), cease all support for the WHO, and hold it accountable for its myriad failures,”Representative Roy concluded.
Read the full letter here.
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