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In addition to introducing the bill, Shaheen also spearheaded a Democratic letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to issue a blanket waiver allowing government agencies to work with the WHO on the outbreak response, despite the US withdrawal from the organization.
The legislation would require Trump to take “all necessary steps” for the US to rejoin the WHO no later than 30 days after its enactment, and to immediately collaborate with the organization on the Ebola response. It would also authorize funding to cover WHO membership contributions and support the organization’s efforts to tackle the virus.
The bill, details of which were shared first with Semafor, is being sponsored by a dozen Democrats including Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The legislation is highly unlikely to advance in the Republican-controlled Senate. However, it is an answer-of-sorts to Trump’s supplemental budget request reported Wednesday that asked for $1.4 billion in funding to address the Ebola crisis.
“The Trump administration’s withdrawal from the WHO last year, cuts to foreign assistance programming and the stalling of funds to critical vaccine organizations like Gavi have exacerbated the crisis and left Americans more vulnerable,” Shaheen said in a statement. She urged the Senate “to swiftly adopt this legislation and ensure the United States government is fully cooperating with the WHO to reduce transmission and prevent Ebola from again reaching America’s shores.”
A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the pending legislation, but blamed the WHO for a delay in alerting the globe to the Ebola outbreak.
“Like many international organizations, the WHO has strayed from its core mission, acted contrary to US interests, and abused its institutional reputation to pursue undue political influence under the guise of scientific evidence,” the spokesperson said. “We can no longer continue to invest in an organization that is ineffective and historically hostile to necessary reforms.”
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