I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5237 

To seek the inclusion of certain requirements of the International Health 

Regulations of the World Health Organization as obligations under the 

World Trade Organization. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 27, 2006 

Mr. MARKEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on International Relations and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To seek the inclusion of certain requirements of the International Health Regulations of the World Health Organization as obligations under the World Trade Organization. 

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 ‘‘Global Trade Requires 

5 Unmitigated Truth in Health (TRUTH) Act’’ . 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
2 

•HR 5237 IH 

1 (1) The rise of global trade has created both 

2 new commercial opportunities and new health risks. 

3 (2) Governments have the right and responsi4 bility to protect their countries from the threat of 

5 disease. 

6 (3) Trade is responsible for contributing to the 

7 rapid spread of disease around the globe and in8 creases the risk of a pandemic outbreak. 

9 (4) Those who participate in world trade, there10 fore, have a responsibility to promptly report and 

11 appropriately respond to infectious diseases on a 

12 timely basis to minimize the potential for global 

13 pandemics. 

14 (5) The World Health Organization has created 

15 the World Health Organization International Health 

16 Regulations to prevent, protect against, and control 

17 disease and provide a public health response to the 

18 international spread of disease in ways that are com19 mensurate with and restricted to public health risks, 

20 and that avoid unnecessary interference with inter21 national traffic and trade. 

22 (6) The failure of countries to be transparent 

23 and responsive to the existence or spread of disease 

24 in a country that is a member of the World Trade 

25 Organization threatens the free flow of goods and 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
3 

•HR 5237 IH 

1 services that is a primary objective of the GATT 

2 1994 and other agreements of the World Trade Or3 ganization. 

4 (7) The experience with the SARS outbreak in 

5 2002 and 2003 should be a clear warning that the 

6 system of public health readiness can be easily com7 promised by delays in reporting the earliest cases of 

8 an outbreak by a country reluctant to publicize a 

9 problem with an economic downside, no matter the 

10 public health consequences. 

11 (8) If a country fails to abide by regulations 

12 which are designed to prevent, protect against, and 

13 control disease and provide a public health response 

14 to the international spread of disease without unnec15 essary interference with international traffic and 

16 trade, it may be necessary to take actions against 

17 that country which restrict or otherwise interfere 

18 with international traffic or trade in the best inter19 est of public health. 

20 SEC. 3. WTO PROPOSAL. 

21 (a) ACTION BY UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENT22 ATIVE.—The United States Trade Representative shall— 

23 (1) propose to the World Trade Organization 

24 that the rights and obligations of the World Trade 

25 Organization should take into account whether counVerDate Aug 31 2005 19:38 Apr 30, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5237.IH H5237

jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
4 

•HR 5237 IH 

1 tries are undermining the trade system by failing to 

2 abide by the rules of other international organiza3 tions with regard to public health, specifically the 

4 International Health Regulations of the World 

5 Health Organization; and 

6 (2) include in the proposal options for its imple7 mentation, such as— 

8 (A) provisions that would give members of 

9 the World Trade Organization the right to im10 pose sanctions or other punitive measures on 

11 members that have been found to violate the 

12 International Health Regulations of the World 

13 Health Organization; and 

14 (B) membership criteria for current and 

15 potential members of the World trade Organiza16 tion that would include the requirement to up17 hold the trade system by abiding by rules of 

18 other international organizations with regard to 

19 public health. 

20 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The United States 

21 Trade Representative shall report to the Congress, not 

22 later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 

23 Act, and not later than the end of each 90-day period 

24 thereafter, on steps the Trade Representative has taken 

25 to carry out subsection (a), and the results of those steps. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
5 

•HR 5237 IH 

1 SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT ON COUNTRY COMPLIANCE WITH 

2 INTERNATIONAL HEALTH REGULATIONS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

4 Human Services shall transmit to the Speaker of the 

5 House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 

6 and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 

7 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 

8 the Senate, not later than December 1, 2006, and not 

9 later than December 1 of each year thereafter, a full and 

10 complete report regarding the status of the compliance 

11 with and observance of the International Health Regula12 tions of the World Health Organization in each country 

13 that is a member of that Organization. 

14 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report under subsection (a) 

15 shall include the following information: 

16 (1) The extent to which each country complies 

17 with and enforces the requirements contained in the 

18 International Health Regulations. 

19 (2) The extent to which each country uses ef20 fective epidemiological principles to detect, reduce, 

21 or eliminate the sources from which infection 

22 spreads, to improve sanitation in and around ports 

23 and airports, to prevent the dissemination of vectors, 

24 and, in general, to encourage epidemiological activi25 ties on the national level so that there is little risk 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
6 

•HR 5237 IH 

1 of outside infection establishing itself in that coun2 try. 

3 (3) The steps that the Secretary has taken to 

4 alter United States programs or policies with respect 

5 to any country because of unsatisfactory compliance 

6 with the International Health Regulations. 

7 (4) For each country in which the report indi8 cates that the country’s health administration has 

9 failed to notify the World Health Organization with10 in 24 hours of its being informed that the first case 

11 of a disease subject to the International Health Reg12 ulations, that is neither an imported case nor a 

13 transferred case, has occurred in its territory, or, 

14 within the subsequent 24 hours, has failed to notify 

15 the infected area, the extent to which the United 

16 States has taken or will take action to encourage 

17 such notifications. 

18 (5) The extent to which each country commu19 nicates frequent and detailed information to the 

20 World Health Organization about the presence of 

21 plague, cholera, yellow fever, avian influenza, Severe 

22 Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and any other 

23 disease determined by the Secretary that is present 

24 in its country. The report shall describe whether 

25 each country communicates to the World Health OrVerDate Aug 31 2005 19:38 Apr 30, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5237.IH H5237

jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
7 

•HR 5237 IH 

1 ganization the number of cases and deaths at least 

2 once each week, and the precautions taken to pre3 vent the spread of the disease, in particular the 

4 measures which are being applied to prevent the 

5 spread of the disease to other territories by vessels, 

6 aircraft, trains, road vehicles, other means of trans7 port, and containers leaving the infected area. 

8 (6) What steps the government of each country 

9 has taken to ensure that ports and airports in its 

10 territory have at their disposal an organization and 

11 equipment adequate for the application of the meas12 ures provided for in the International Health Regu13 lations. 

14 (7) What steps the government of each country 

15 has taken to make available, at as many of the ports 

16 and airports in a territory as practicable, an orga17 nized medical and health service with adequate staff, 

18 equipment, and premises, in particular facilities for 

19 the prompt isolation and care of infected persons, 

20 for disinfection, disinsecting, and deratting, for bac21 teriological investigation, for the collection and ex22 amination of rodents for plague infection, for collec23 tion of water and food samples and their dispatch to 

24 a laboratory for examination, and for other approVerDate Aug 31 2005 19:38 Apr 30, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5237.IH H5237

jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
8 

•HR 5237 IH 

1 priate measures provided for by the International 

2 Health Regulations. 

Æ 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS