II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4118 

To require the President to appoint a Special Presidential Envoy for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, who shall develop and implement 

a diplomatic strategy to prepare for, detect, respond to, and recover 

from pandemics and other global outbreaks of infectious disease, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 30, 2020 

Ms. HARRIS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To require the President to appoint a Special Presidential 

Envoy for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, who 

shall develop and implement a diplomatic strategy to 

prepare for, detect, respond to, and recover from 

pandemics and other global outbreaks of infectious disease, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Pandemic 

5 Preparedness and Response Through Diplomacy Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) According to the annual report of the Glob4 al Preparedness Monitoring Board (an independent 

5 panel of experts convened by the World Bank Group 

6 and the World Health Organization), ‘‘The world is 

7 at acute risk for devastating regional or global dis8 ease epidemics or pandemics that not only cause loss 

9 of life but upend and create social chaos.’’. 

10 (2) The World Health Organization— 

11 (A) declared the outbreak of the novel 

12 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID–19) a Public 

13 Health Emergency of International Concern on 

14 January 30, 2020; 

15 (B) raised its global risk assessment to 

16 ‘‘Very High’’ on February 28, 2020; and 

17 (C) ultimately declared the outbreak a 

18 pandemic on March 11, 2020. 

19 (3) The risks associated with future outbreaks 

20 of infections disease and other global health emer21 gencies, whether naturally-occurring, accidental, or 

22 deliberate, are increasing due to a number of fac23 tors, including— 

24 (A) the spillover of pathogens from ani25 mals to humans; 


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1 (B) the development of antimicrobial re2 sistance; 

3 (C) population growth and resulting 

4 strains on the environment; 

5 (D) urbanization; 

6 (E) international travel and trade; 

7 (F) forced and voluntary migration; 

8 (G) climate change; 

9 (H) weak public health infrastructures; 

10 and 

11 (I) potential acts of bioterrorism. 

12 (4) Vulnerable populations, including those who 

13 live in poverty and in countries with weak public 

14 health and government infrastructure, and at-risk 

15 groups, such as the sick, older people, ethnic and re16 ligious minorities, women, people with disabilities, 

17 LGBTQ people, indigenous, migrants, refugees, and 

18 children, are particularly susceptible to the outbreak 

19 of infectious disease and its consequences. 

20 (5) According to an April 2020 report of the 

21 International Monetary Fund— 

22 (A) ‘‘It is very likely that this year the 

23 global economy will experience its worst reces24 sion since the Depression, surpassing that seen 


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1 during the global financial crisis a decade 

2 ago.’’; and 

3 (B) ‘‘As a result of the pandemic, the glob4 al economy is projected to contract sharply by 

5 3 percent in 2020.’’. 

6 (6) As of May 14, 2020, the Department of 

7 Labor estimated that 36,500,000 workers filed for 

8 first-time unemployment claims during the previous 

9 8 weeks, which coincides with the timeframe during 

10 which the impact of the coronavirus became wide11 spread across the United States. 

12 (7) The United States Government, along with 

13 the medical, scientific, and public health commu14 nities, has historically promoted global public health 

15 through— 

16 (A) multilateral cooperation; 

17 (B) funding of relevant research activities; 

18 and 

19 (C) the provision of development assistance 

20 to prepare for, detect, respond to, and recover 

21 from the outbreak of infectious disease. 

22 (8) The Global Health Security Agenda is a 

23 multi-faceted, multi-country initiative intended to 

24 improve partner countries’ measurable capabilities to 


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1 prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease, 

2 which the United States is committed to advancing. 

3 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

4 It is the sense of Congress that— 

5 (1) no country, acting alone, can effectively pro6 tect the health and safety of all its people from the 

7 outbreak and spread of infectious disease and other 

8 global health emergencies; 

9 (2) efforts to prepare for, detect, respond to, 

10 and recover from disease outbreaks and pandemics 

11 globally— 

12 (A) are in the interests of the United 

13 States; and 

14 (B) are consistent with the promotion of 

15 core values of peace, prosperity, health, and 

16 equal dignity and rights of all peoples; 

17 (3) robust diplomacy, including multilateral di18 plomacy and development assistance, is an essential 

19 part of a well-coordinated, whole-of-government 

20 strategy to prepare for, detect, respond to, and re21 cover from disease outbreak and spread and other 

22 global health emergencies; and 

23 (4) support for, and active participation in, 

24 multilateral organizations, such as the United Na25 tions and the World Health Organization, enhance 


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1 the efforts of the United States to prepare for, de2 tect, respond to, and recover from disease outbreaks 

3 and pandemics, both domestically and globally. 

4 SEC. 4. SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY FOR PANDEMIC 

5 PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE. 

6 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ap7 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 

8 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

9 Senate; 

10 (2) the Committee on Health, Education, 

11 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 

12 (3) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

13 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

14 (4) the Committee on Armed Services of the 

15 Senate; 

16 (5) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

17 and Forestry of the Senate; 

18 (6) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

19 Transportation of the Senate; 

20 (7) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

21 Senate; 

22 (8) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

23 House of Representatives; 

24 (9) the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

25 House of Representatives; 


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1 (10) the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

2 of the House of Representatives; 

3 (11) the Committee on Education and Labor of 

4 the House of Representatives; 

5 (12) the Committee on Homeland Security of 

6 the House of Representatives; 

7 (13) the Committee on Armed Services of the 

8 House of Representatives; 

9 (14) the Committee on Agriculture of the 

10 House of Representatives; and 

11 (15) the Permanent Select Committee on Intel12 ligence of the House of Representatives. 

13 (b) OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL

14 ENVOY.—There is established in the Office of the Sec15 retary of State, an Office of the Special Presidential 

16 Envoy, which— 

17 (1) shall be led by the Special Presidential 

18 Envoy for Pandemic Preparedness and Response 

19 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Special Presi20 dential Envoy’’) appointed pursuant to subsection 

21 (c); 

22 (2) shall be staffed with— 

23 (A) detailees from the bureaus and offices 

24 under the jurisdiction of the Under Secretary 


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1 for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Envi2 ronment; 

3 (B) detailees from the Bureau of Oceans 

4 and International Environmental and Scientific 

5 Affairs; and 

6 (C) any other Department of State per7 sonnel the Secretary considers necessary. 

8 (c) APPOINTMENT.—The President, in consultation 

9 with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Health 

10 and Human Services, shall appoint a Special Presidential 

11 Envoy for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, who 

12 shall have the rank and status of Ambassador-at-Large. 

13 (d) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Special Presidential 

14 Envoy shall have extensive experience in global public 

15 health, diplomacy, medicine, or a related field. 

16 (e) DUTIES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The principal duty of the 

18 Special Presidential Envoy shall be the overall su19 pervision, including policy oversight of resources, of 

20 diplomatic efforts to prepare for, detect, respond to, 

21 and recover from pandemics and other global out22 breaks of infectious disease. The Special Presidential 

23 Envoy shall exercise such powers as the Secretary of 

24 State may prescribe. 


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1 (2) STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT.—The Special 

2 Presidential Envoy shall develop, and, in coordina3 tion with the heads of relevant departments and 

4 agencies, direct the implementation of the diplomatic 

5 strategy described in section 5. 

6 (f) REPORTS.— 

7 (1) REPORT ON COVID–19 PANDEMIC.—Not 

8 later than 30 days after the date of the enactment 

9 of this Act, and quarterly thereafter, the Special 

10 Presidential Envoy shall submit a report to the ap11 propriate congressional committees that describes 

12 his or her efforts to develop and implement a diplo13 matic strategy comprised of the elements specified in 

14 section 5 with respect to the COVID–19 pandemic. 

15 (2) GENERAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

17 every 180 days thereafter, the Special Presidential 

18 Envoy shall submit a report to the appropriate con19 gressional committees that describes his or her ef20 forts to develop and implement a diplomatic strategy 

21 comprised of the elements specified in section 5 with 

22 respect to any and all future outbreaks of infectious 

23 disease or pandemics. 


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1 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for the Office 

3 of the Special Presidential Envoy to carry out this section. 

4 SEC. 5. ELEMENTS OF DIPLOMATIC STRATEGY. 

5 The diplomatic strategy to prepare for, detect, re6 spond to, and recover from pandemics and other global 

7 outbreaks of infectious disease should address— 

8 (1) the development of medical counter9 measures, including vaccines, antimicrobials, thera10 peutics, and diagnostics for emerging infectious dis11 eases; 

12 (2) zoonotic disease prevention, detection, and 

13 response; 

14 (3) the development of disease surveillance sys15 tems; 

16 (4) the promotion of disease reporting and 

17 greater transparency of disease-related information; 

18 (5) increasing the capabilities and capacity of 

19 national laboratories; 

20 (6) combating the spread of antimicrobial re21 sistant microorganisms; 

22 (7) scientific workforce development and train23 ing; 

24 (8) the mitigation of, disruptions to, and other 

25 issues related to, global medical supply chains; 


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1 (9) efforts to prevent the outbreak and spread 

2 of infectious diseases among displaced persons and 

3 other vulnerable populations; 

4 (10) the development and use of standards and 

5 best practices for the imposition and lifting of dis6 ease mitigation measures, including travel restric7 tions, social distancing, quarantining, and other re8 strictions on economic and social activities; and 

9 (11) efforts to combat the spread of 

10 disinformation and racial discrimination related to 

11 the outbreak and spread of infectious disease. 

12 SEC. 6. INTERAGENCY STEERING COMMITTEE. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, acting 

14 through the Special Presidential Envoy for Pandemic Pre15 paredness and Response, shall regularly convene an inter16 agency steering committee to aid in the development, co17 ordination, and implementation of the diplomatic strategy 

18 described in section 5. 

19 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The interagency steering com20 mittee referred to in subsection (a)— 

21 (1) should be led by the Special Presidential 

22 Envoy; and 

23 (2) shall include, as members— 


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1 (A) the Assistant Secretary of State for 

2 Oceans and International Environmental and 

3 Scientific Affairs; 

4 (B) the Global AIDS Coordinator and 

5 United States Special Representative for Global 

6 Health Diplomacy; 

7 (C) any other Department of State per8 sonnel the Secretary considers necessary; 

9 (D) the Director of the Office of Global 

10 Affairs of the Department of Health and 

11 Human Services; and 

12 (E) at least 1 representative from each of 

13 the following agencies: 

14 (i) The United States Agency for 

15 International Development. 

16 (ii) The Department of Health and 

17 Human Services. 

18 (iii) The Centers for Disease Control 

19 and Prevention. 

20 (iv) The National Institutes of 

21 Health. 

22 (v) The Department of Agriculture. 

23 (vi) The Department of Homeland Se24 curity. 

25 (vii) The Department of the Treasury. 


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1 (viii) The Department of Commerce. 

2 (ix) The Office of the United States 

3 Trade Representative. 

4 (x) The Department of Labor. 

5 (xi) The White House Office of 

6 Science and Technology Policy. 

7 (xii) The Office of the Director of Na8 tional Intelligence. 

9 (xiii) The Department of Defense. 

10 SEC. 7. OUTSIDE PANEL OF EXPERTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, acting 

12 through the Special Presidential Envoy for Pandemic Pre13 paredness and Response, shall regularly convene an out14 side panel of experts— 

15 (1) to advise the Special Presidential Envoy re16 garding scientific, technical, and other policy mat17 ters; and 

18 (2) to make recommendations for the develop19 ment and implementation of the diplomatic strategy 

20 described in section 5. 

21 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Special Presidential Envoy, 

22 in consultation with the interagency steering committee 

23 established pursuant to section 6, shall determine who will 

24 be included on the panel convened pursuant to subsection 

25 (a). 


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1 (c) APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal Advi2 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. shall not apply to the 

3 panel convened pursuant to subsection (a)). 

4 SEC. 8. HONORING FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS TO THE 

5 WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION. 

6 Subject to the availability of appropriations, but not7 withstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of 

8 the Treasury shall remit all United States assessed con9 tributions to the World Health Organization not later than 

10 the date on which such contributions are due and payable. 

Æ 


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