Title: Global COVID-19 Truth, Transparency, and Accountability Act
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Global COVID-19 Truth, Transparency, and Accountability Act
This bill requires assessments of the response of the World Health Organization (WHO) to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.
The Department of State shall report to Congress on the effectiveness, transparency, and accountability of the WHO's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including an assessment of information about the pandemic that China conveyed to or withheld from the WHO. The report shall assess whether WHO regulations need to be updated and whether new mechanisms are needed to effectively address pandemics and increase accountability.
Materials submitted in support of the President's annual budget shall include an assessment of (1) whether institutional reforms at the WHO are needed to ensure accountability and effectiveness, and (2) whether U.S. contributions to the WHO should be withheld in the absence of such reforms.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6915 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6915

 To facilitate greater effectiveness, coordination, transparency, and 
 accountability of international global health organizations, such as 
 the World Health Organization, in responding to global pandemics and 
                   transnational health emergencies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 15, 2020

 Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. Cuellar) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 
  and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, 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 facilitate greater effectiveness, coordination, transparency, and 
 accountability of international global health organizations, such as 
 the World Health Organization, in responding to global pandemics and 
                   transnational health emergencies.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Global COVID-19 Truth, Transparency, 
and Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States to promote effectiveness, 
coordination, transparency, and accountability of international global 
health organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), so 
that they will be more effective in catalyzing global and country 
actions to address health crises, especially with a view toward 
preparing for, and responding to, global pandemics and transnational 
health emergencies.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) There is a compelling role for an international 
        organization to help mitigate infectious diseases that respect 
        no national borders.
            (2) The World Health Organization (WHO) has played a 
        critical role in addressing and mitigating infectious diseases, 
        such as coordinating the Smallpox Eradication Program (SEP) 
        from 1966 through 1980.
            (3) The 2017 National Security Strategy states that 
        ``Naturally emerging outbreaks of viruses such as Ebola, H1N1, 
        MERS-CoV, the 2003 SARS-CoV-1 outbreak, as well as the 
        deliberate 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, 
        demonstrated the impact of biological threats on national 
        security by taking lives, generating economic losses, and 
        contributing to a loss of confidence in government 
        institutions.''.
            (4) The United States depends on an effective WHO to make 
        good, well-informed public health decisions to contain 
        infectious diseases.
            (5) The SARS-CoV-2 or Coronavirus Disease 2019 (commonly 
        known as ``COVID-19'') pandemic appears to have originated in 
        late 2019 in Wuhan, China.
            (6) Chinese officials initially reported to the WHO in 
        January 2020 that there was no evidence that the COVID-19 
        pandemic was spread by human to human contact.
            (7) The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with the 
        annual celebration of the Chinese New Year, which is the 
        largest annual human migration in the world.
            (8) The Government of Taiwan, based on its own research, 
        communicated to the WHO in December 2019 that COVID-19 pandemic 
        was spread by human to human contact.
            (9) The WHO disregarded the more accurate information from 
        the Government of Taiwan because of anti-Taiwan animus driven 
        by malign influence of the Government of the People's Republic 
        of China.
            (10) The Government of the People's Republic of China had 
        actively campaigned for Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to be 
        selected as Director-General of the WHO, and exerts influence 
        on him.
            (11) With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China provided factually 
        inaccurate information to the WHO and Director-General 
        Ghebreyesus, resulting in the spread of disinformation globally 
        about the pandemic.
            (12) Initial recommendations by the WHO at the onset of the 
        COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019 and early 2020 advising 
        countries against carrying out travel restrictions to and from 
        the affected areas resulted in a much wider spread of the 
        disease, and severely limited the ability of the international 
        community to contain the virus.
            (13) During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO's 
        effectiveness was diminished because its leadership appears to 
        have put political considerations over its public health 
        mandate, and the WHO transmitted inaccurate and misleading 
        information regarding the communicability of the novel 
        coronavirus to member states.
            (14) WHO member states relied on inaccurate and misleading 
        information regarding transmission of COVID-19 supplied by the 
        WHO and used this information to formulate their responses, 
        resulting in a significantly higher number of infected people 
        and loss of life.
            (15) The United States and other countries have a 
        compelling humanitarian interest in comprehensively and 
        objectively investigating and reporting on the WHO's COVID-19 
        pandemic record, including any failures. The United States has 
        a broad interest in promoting transparency and accountability 
        in United Nations agencies and other international 
        organizations, including regional arms of the WHO such as the 
        Pan American Health Organization.
            (16) The United States needs to investigate the causes of 
        this failure at the WHO, and promote transparency and 
        accountability, in order to improve the capacity of the WHO to 
        address future pandemics.

SEC. 4. REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTIVENESS OF MULTILATERAL 
              RESPONSES TO GLOBAL PANDEMICS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
panel of experts established under subsection (b), shall--
            (1) review the effectiveness, coordination, transparency, 
        and accountability of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 
        responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, including an assessment of 
        information that was conveyed to or withheld from the WHO by 
        the Government of the People's Republic of China;
            (2) review the effectiveness, coordination, transparency, 
        and accountability of international global health 
        organizations, such as the WHO and its regional organizations, 
        in responding to global pandemics and transnational health 
        emergencies generally; and
            (3) assess whether the WHO's International Health 
        Regulations (2005) should be updated and whether new 
        international mechanisms or institutions are needed to--
                    (A) prevent or mitigate the spread of global 
                pandemics;
                    (B) develop expedited effective testing capacities 
                for global pandemics that are accessible and 
                affordable;
                    (C) develop expedited safe and effective 
                prophylactics and therapeutics that are accessible and 
                affordable;
                    (D) coordinate the communication of timely and 
                accurate information to WHO member states during global 
                pandemics; and
                    (E) ensure effectiveness, coordination, 
                transparency, and accountability of international 
                global health organizations.
    (b) Panel of Experts on Global Pandemics.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of State, in consultation 
        with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the 
        Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
        Development, shall establish a panel of experts on global 
        pandemics (in this Act referred to as the ``panel of experts'') 
        to assist in carrying out the review and assessment required by 
        subsection (a) and to develop the recommendations required by 
        paragraph (3).
            (2) Membership.--The membership of the panel of experts 
        shall consist of the following:
                    (A) At least 2 representatives of nongovernmental 
                organizations with expertise in, and dedication to 
                providing, international medical care, to be appointed 
                by the Secretary of State.
                    (B) At least 2 representatives from academia or 
                civil society with expertise in United Nations reform, 
                to be appointed by the Secretary of State.
                    (C) The Director of the Centers for Disease Control 
                and Prevention.
                    (D) The Director of the National Institutes of 
                Health.
                    (E) The Assistant Secretary of State for 
                International Organization Affairs.
                    (F) The U.S. Special Representative for Global 
                Health Diplomacy.
                    (G) The Assistant Administrator for the United 
                States Agency for International Development's Bureau 
                for Global Health.
                    (H) Four individuals with expertise in infectious 
                disease pandemics, the WHO, and the WHO's International 
                Health Regulations, of which--
                            (i) one individual shall be appointed by 
                        the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
                            (ii) one individual shall be appointed by 
                        the majority leader of the Senate;
                            (iii) one individual shall be appointed by 
                        the minority leader of the House of 
                        Representatives; and
                            (iv) one individual shall be appointed by 
                        the minority leader of the Senate.
            (3) Recommendations.--The panel of experts shall, on an 
        annual basis, develop recommendations to address--
                    (A) the effect of WHO member states failing to 
                share timely information or suppressing information 
                concerning emerging global pandemics or transnational 
                health emergencies, including, in the initial set of 
                recommendations, such effect with respect to the COVID-
                19 pandemic;
                    (B) the extent of influence of some states on the 
                selection of WHO leadership;
                    (C) reforms with respect to the WHO and the WHO's 
                International Health Regulations regarding preparedness 
                for global pandemics; and
                    (D) decisions to mitigate abuse by some WHO member 
                states of the WHO and other international organizations 
                for political ends.
    (c) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date on 
        which the panel of experts is established under subsection (b), 
        and annually thereafter, the panel of experts shall submit to 
        the Secretary of State a report on--
                    (A) the recommendations required by subsection 
                (b)(3); and
                    (B) proposals for administrative and legislative 
                actions that the panel determines to be appropriate to 
                carry out the recommendations.
            (2) Reference.--The report required by paragraph (1) may be 
        referred to as the ``Global Pandemic Report''.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--Of the amounts authorized to 
be appropriated for ``Global Health Programs'' for each of the 5 fiscal 
years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act, there are 
authorized to be appropriated for each such fiscal year $750,000 to 
carry out this section.

SEC. 5. REPORT.

    Not later than 30 days after the date on which the report required 
by section 4(c) is submitted to the Secretary of State, and annually 
thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on--
            (1) the review and assessment required by section 4(a); and
            (2) the report required by section 4(c).

SEC. 6. PRESIDENTIAL DETERMINATION ON FUNDING.

    The President shall include in the materials submitted in support 
of the budget of the President (submitted to Congress pursuant to 
section 1105 of title 31, United States Code) for each of the 5 fiscal 
years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act--
            (1) a determination of whether--
                    (A) institutional reforms instituted at the World 
                Health Organization (WHO) are sufficient to ensure 
                accountability and to identify and address global 
                pandemics; and
                    (B) there are sufficient international protocols in 
                place to ensure transparency and the independence of 
                the WHO in detecting and responding to such pandemics;
            (2) a recommendation of whether any United States 
        contributions to the WHO or other United Nations funds, 
        programs, or other entities with a primary focus on 
        international health should be withheld as a result of any lack 
        of implementation of such reforms; and
            (3) a recommendation of whether, if such reforms are not 
        implemented, withheld funds should be made available to the 
        United States Agency for International Development or 
        international organizations such as the Global Fund to Fight 
        AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance.

SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act may be construed to increase authorizations of 
appropriations for the Department of State or the Department of Health 
and Human Services.
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