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[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 579 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>

116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 579

    Encouraging the international community to remain committed to 
  collaboration and coordination to mitigate and prevent the further 
  spread of COVID-19 and urging renewed United States leadership and 
participation in global efforts on therapeutics and vaccine development 
 and delivery to address COVID-19 and prevent further deaths, and for 
                            other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 14, 2020

   Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Leahy, Mr. 
Menendez, Mr. Murphy, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Coons, Mr. Udall, Mr. Bennet, 
Mr. Booker, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Reed, Mrs. Gillibrand, 
  Mr. Casey, Mr. Brown, Ms. Hassan, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. 
Heinrich, Ms. Warren, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Markey, Ms. Baldwin, 
Mr. Wyden, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Whitehouse, 
Ms. Rosen, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Smith, Mr. King, Mr. Warner, Mr. Schatz, Ms. 
   Klobuchar, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Carper, and Ms. Harris) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

                             June 25, 2020

   Committee discharged; considered, amended, and agreed to with an 
             amended preamble and an amendment to the title

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
    Encouraging the international community to remain committed to 
  collaboration and coordination to mitigate and prevent the further 
  spread of COVID-19 and urging renewed United States leadership and 
participation in global efforts on therapeutics and vaccine development 
 and delivery to address COVID-19 and prevent further deaths, and for 
                            other purposes.

Whereas there is a rich history of coordinated global health collaboration and 
        coordination, dating back to 1851, to strategically and effectively 
        combat deadly diseases of the time, such as the spread of plague;
Whereas the United States has long been an active and critical leader in such 
        global public health efforts, providing financial and technical support 
        to multilateral institutions, foreign governments, and nongovernmental 
        organizations;
Whereas international collaboration has led to a number of historic global 
        health achievements, including the eradication of smallpox, the 
        reduction of polio cases by 99 percent, the elimination of river 
        blindness, the decline in maternal and child mortality, the recognition 
        of tobacco use as a health hazard, and countless others;
Whereas there has been bipartisan support in the United States to lead efforts 
        to address global health needs, as evidenced by initiatives such as the 
        President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the President's 
        Malaria Initiative;
Whereas the United States led the global effort to end the Ebola outbreak in 
        West Africa between 2014 and 2016;
Whereas these bipartisan investments in global health have helped not only save 
        countless lives around the world, but also at home in the United States;
Whereas an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China was 
        first reported in December 2019, with a global pandemic declaration by 
        the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020;
Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Protection, more than 
        116,000 individuals in the United States are known to have died due to 
        COVID-19 as of June 17, 2020, and a long-term, sustainable solution will 
        require international access to a vaccine;
Whereas the COVID-19 outbreak continues to place extreme pressure on health care 
        systems and supply chains worldwide, impacting international travel, 
        trade, and all other aspects of international exchanges, and requires a 
        coordinated global effort to respond;
Whereas the interconnectivity of our globalized world means an infectious 
        disease can travel around the world in as little as 36 hours;
Whereas United States Federal departments and agencies have engaged in and 
        supported certain research and clinical trial efforts into 
        coronaviruses, which may yield potential discoveries related to vaccine 
        candidates;
Whereas domestic and domestically supported vaccine candidates for COVID-19 
        comprise approximately 40 percent of the current potential COVID-19 
        vaccine candidates worldwide;
Whereas international collaboration and coordination can help ensure equitable 
        access to safe, effective, and affordable therapeutics and vaccines, 
        thereby saving the lives of Americans and others around the world;
Whereas the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations is working to 
        accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious 
        diseases, including COVID-19, and to enable equitable access to these 
        vaccines for people during outbreaks;
Whereas, on May 4, 2020, the President of the European Commission led a virtual 
        summit where nations around the world pledged more than $8,000,000,000 
        to quickly develop vaccines and treatment to fight COVID-19;
Whereas Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is working to maintain ongoing immunization 
        programs in partner countries while helping to identify and rapidly 
        accelerate the development, production, and equitable delivery of COVID-
        19 vaccines; and
Whereas, on June 4, 2020, the United Kingdom hosted a pledging conference for 
        Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, for which the United States made an historic 
        $1,160,000,000 multi-year commitment: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the historic leadership role of the United 
        States in stemming global health crises in the past;
            (2) commends the historic achievements of the international 
        community to address global public health threats, such as the 
        eradication of smallpox and dramatic progress in reducing cases 
        of polio;
            (3) encourages the international community to remain 
        committed to collaboration and coordination to mitigate and 
        prevent the further spread of COVID-19;
            (4) commends the promising research and development 
        underway to develop COVID-19 diagnostics, therapies, and 
        vaccines within the United States and with support from the 
        Federal government, public-private partnerships, and commercial 
        partners;
            (5) acknowledges the vast international research enterprise 
        and collaboration underway to study an expansive range of drug 
        and vaccine candidates;
            (6) urges renewed United States leadership and 
        participation in global efforts on therapeutics and vaccine 
        development and delivery to address COVID-19 and prevent 
        further American deaths; and
            (7) calls on the United States Government to strengthen 
        collaboration with key partners at the forefront of responding 
        to COVID-19.
                                 <all>
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