Ocean County Leader

With the support of Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester), the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 24-23 to advance legislation that would prevent President Biden from signing the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Treaty without prior Senate ratification.

Cosponsored by Smith, the No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act (HR 1425) now heads to the House Floor for consideration and passage.

“From day one, we have been pressing the Biden Administration to ensure that US sovereignty is protected from unelected WHO bureaucrats and to commit to sending the proposed WHO Pandemic Treaty to the Senate for a real review before any agreement by the US government,” said Smith, Chairman of the House Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations Subcommittee.

“So far, our demands have not been heeded,” Smith added.

HR 1425 would ensure that any international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response agreed to by the World Health Assembly is deemed a treaty and thereby sent to the Senate for advice and consent.

Smith has been leading efforts in Congress to address significant issues surrounding the proposed treaty. In February, he hosted a news conference on Capitol Hill featuring a panel of experts from various backgrounds.

“It is an absolute affront to our sovereignty to hand over critical health authorities to these unelected bureaucrats—with no accountability whatsoever—and empower them to dictate policies to U.S. medical professionals and U.S. taxpayers when it comes to vaccines, therapeutics and the like,” said Smith.

“Using potential pandemics as a pretext to violate the principles of good governance erodes trust and undermines international cooperation when it is most needed,” he continued.

“And we most certainly won’t be signing a blank check,” added Smith, noting that the current WHO proposal includes undetermined financial commitments. “The American taxpayer should not be fleeced like this.”

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