Steve Daines

05/20/2022 | Press release | Archived content

Daines, Cotton Urge Biden to Withdraw from World Health Organization

05.20.22

Daines, Cotton Urge Biden to Withdraw from World Health Organization

U.S. SENATE - U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Tom Cotton sent a letter to President Biden expressing concerns with the administration's recent actions regarding the future of the World Health Organization (WHO). The Senators urge President Biden to not only rescind the proposed January 18, 2022, amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR), but also to withdraw the United States from this corrupt and inept international organization.

"Your administration has decided to support at least two measures intended to increase the power of the WHO at the expense of sovereign nations like our own. First, you proposed IHR amendments that would, among other things, grant unilateral authority to declare public health emergencies of international or regional concern to the WHO's Director General and Regional Directors, respectively. This would be an alarming transfer of U.S. sovereignty to an unelected U.N. bureaucrat. Second, your administration announced that it supports the negotiation of a new international pandemic treaty over the next two years which seems intended to grant evermore sweeping powers to the WHO," the Senators wrote.

"We are deeply troubled by these proposed policies that threaten to erode America's sovereign power to address public health emergencies as we see fit. The WHO cannot be trusted to properly exercise its current powers; it absolutely cannot be trusted with more power. Accordingly, we respectfully urge you to instruct the American delegation to this World Health Assembly to withdraw the proposed amendments to the IHR. We further urge you to withdraw the United States from this corrupt organization whose leadership is beholden to Communist China," the Senators continued.

Read the full letter that Daines and Cotton sent to President Biden HERE.

Background:

The World Health Assembly, which is the decision-making body of the World Health Organization, is convening from May 22-28 in Geneva, Switzerland, where discussions about the International Health Regulations (IHR) and amendments proposed by the United States are expected to be considered.

###

Contact: Rachel Dumke, Katie Schoettler