III 

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 


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•SRES 579 ATS 

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; 


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•SRES 579 ATS 

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; 


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•SRES 579 ATS 

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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes the historic leadership role of the 

3 United States in stemming global health crises in 

4 the past; 

5 (2) commends the historic achievements of the 

6 international community to address global public 

7 health threats, such as the eradication of smallpox 

8 and dramatic progress in reducing cases of polio; 

9 (3) encourages the international community to 

10 remain committed to collaboration and coordination 

11 to mitigate and prevent the further spread of 

12 COVID–19; 

13 (4) commends the promising research and de14 velopment underway to develop COVID–19 diagnosVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR579.ATS SR579

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•SRES 579 ATS 

1 tics, therapies, and vaccines within the United 

2 States and with support from the Federal govern3 ment, public-private partnerships, and commercial 

4 partners; 

5 (5) acknowledges the vast international re6 search enterprise and collaboration underway to 

7 study an expansive range of drug and vaccine can8 didates; 

9 (6) urges renewed United States leadership and 

10 participation in global efforts on therapeutics and 

11 vaccine development and delivery to address 

12 COVID–19 and prevent further American deaths; 

13 and 

14 (7) calls on the United States Government to 

15 strengthen collaboration with key partners at the 

16 forefront of responding to COVID–19. 

Æ 


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