Improving Pandemic Preparedness and Response Through Diplomacy Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4118 To require the President to appoint a Special Presidential Envoy for Pan- demic Preparedness and Response, who shall develop and implement a diplomatic strategy to prepare for, detect, respond to, and recover from pandemics and other global outbreaks of infectious disease, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 30, 2020 Ms. HARRIS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To require the President to appoint a Special Presidential Envoy for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, who shall develop and implement a diplomatic strategy to prepare for, detect, respond to, and recover from pandemics and other global outbreaks of infectious dis- ease, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Pandemic 4 Preparedness and Response Through Diplomacy Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4118.IS S4118 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4118 IS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) According to the annual report of the Glob- 3 al Preparedness Monitoring Board (an independent 4 panel of experts convened by the World Bank Group 5 and the World Health Organization), ‘‘The world is 6 at acute risk for devastating regional or global dis- 7 ease epidemics or pandemics that not only cause loss 8 of life but upend and create social chaos.’’. 9 (2) The World Health Organization— 10 (A) declared the outbreak of the novel 11 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID–19) a Public 12 Health Emergency of International Concern on 13 January 30, 2020; 14 (B) raised its global risk assessment to 15 ‘‘Very High’’ on February 28, 2020; and 16 (C) ultimately declared the outbreak a 17 pandemic on March 11, 2020. 18 (3) The risks associated with future outbreaks 19 of infections disease and other global health emer- 20 gencies, whether naturally-occurring, accidental, or 21 deliberate, are increasing due to a number of fac- 22 tors, including— 23 (A) the spillover of pathogens from ani- 24 mals to humans; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4118.IS S4118 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4118 IS (B) the development of antimicrobial re- 1 sistance; 2 (C) population growth and resulting 3 strains on the environment; 4 (D) urbanization; 5 (E) international travel and trade; 6 (F) forced and voluntary migration; 7 (G) climate change; 8 (H) weak public health infrastructures; 9 and 10 (I) potential acts of bioterrorism. 11 (4) Vulnerable populations, including those who 12 live in poverty and in countries with weak public 13 health and government infrastructure, and at-risk 14 groups, such as the sick, older people, ethnic and re- 15 ligious minorities, women, people with disabilities, 16 LGBTQ people, indigenous, migrants, refugees, and 17 children, are particularly susceptible to the outbreak 18 of infectious disease and its consequences. 19 (5) According to an April 2020 report of the 20 International Monetary Fund— 21 (A) ‘‘It is very likely that this year the 22 global economy will experience its worst reces- 23 sion since the Depression, surpassing that seen 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4118.IS S4118 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4118 IS during the global financial crisis a decade 1 ago.’’; and 2 (B) ‘‘As a result of the pandemic, the glob- 3 al economy is projected to contract sharply by 4 3 percent in 2020.’’. 5 (6) As of May 14, 2020, the Department of 6 Labor estimated that 36,500,000 workers filed for 7 first-time unemployment claims during the previous 8 8 weeks, which coincides with the timeframe during 9 which the impact of the coronavirus became wide- 10 spread across the United States. 11 (7) The United States Government, along with 12 the medical, scientific, and public health commu- 13 nities, has historically promoted global public health 14 through— 15 (A) multilateral cooperation; 16 (B) funding of relevant research activities; 17 and 18 (C) the provision of development assistance 19 to prepare for, detect, respond to, and recover 20 from the outbreak of infectious disease. 21 (8) The Global Health Security Agenda is a 22 multi-faceted, multi-country initiative intended to 23 improve partner countries’ measurable capabilities to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4118.IS S4118 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4118 IS prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease, 1 which the United States is committed to advancing. 2 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 3 It is the sense of Congress that— 4 (1) no country, acting alone, can effectively pro- 5 tect the health and safety of all its people from the 6 outbreak and spread of infectious disease and other 7 global health emergencies; 8 (2) efforts to prepare for, detect, respond to, 9 and recover from disease outbreaks and pandemics 10 globally— 11 (A) are in the interests of the United 12 States; and 13 (B) are consistent with the promotion of 14 core values of peace, prosperity, health, and 15 equal dignity and rights of all peoples; 16 (3) robust diplomacy, including multilateral di- 17 plomacy and development assistance, is an essential 18 part of a well-coordinated, whole-of-government 19 strategy to prepare for, detect, respond to, and re- 20 cover from disease outbreak and spread and other 21 global health emergencies; and 22 (4) support for, and active participation in, 23 multilateral organizations, such as the United Na- 24 tions and the World Health Organization, enhance 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4118.IS S4118 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4118 IS the efforts of the United States to prepare for, de- 1 tect, respond to, and recover from disease outbreaks 2 and pandemics, both domestically and globally. 3 SEC. 4. SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY FOR PANDEMIC 4 PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE. 5 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ap- 6 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 7 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 8 Senate; 9 (2) the Committee on Health, Education, 10 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 11 (3) the Committee on Homeland Security and 12 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 13 (4) the Committee on Armed Services of the 14 Senate; 15 (5) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 16 and Forestry of the Senate; 17 (6) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 18 Transportation of the Senate; 19 (7) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 20 Senate; 21 (8) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 22 House of Representatives; 23 (9) the Committee on Ways and Means of the 24 House of Representatives; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4118.IS S4118 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4118 IS (10) the Committee on Energy and Commerce 1 of the House of Representatives; 2 (11) the Committee on Education and Labor of 3 the House of Representatives; 4 (12) the Committee on Homeland Security of 5 the House of Representatives; 6 (13) the Committee on Armed Services of the 7 House of Representatives; 8 (14) the Committee on Agriculture of the 9 House of Representatives; and 10 (15) the Permanent Select Committee on Intel- 11 ligence of the House of Representatives. 12 (b) OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL 13 ENVOY.—There is established in the Office of the Sec- 14 retary of State, an Office of the Special Presidential 15 Envoy, which— 16 (1) shall be led by the Special Presidential 17 Envoy for Pandemic Preparedness and Response 18 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Special Presi- 19 dential Envoy’’) appointed pursuant to subsection 20 (c); 21 (2) shall be staffed with— 22 (A) detailees from the bureaus and offices 23 under the jurisdiction of the Under Secretary 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4118.IS S4118 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4118 IS for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Envi- 1 ronment; 2 (B) detailees from the Bureau of Oceans 3 and International Environmental and Scientific 4 Affairs; and 5 (C) any other Department of State per- 6 sonnel the Secretary considers necessary. 7 (c) APPOINTMENT.—The President, in consultation 8 with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Health 9 and Human Services, shall appoint a Special Presidential 10 Envoy for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, who 11 shall have the rank and status of Ambassador-at-Large. 12 (d) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Special Presidential 13 Envoy shall have extensive experience in global public 14 health, diplomacy, medicine, or a related field. 15 (e) DUTIES.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The principal duty of the 17 Special Presidential Envoy shall be the overall su- 18 pervision, including policy oversight of resources, of 19 diplomatic efforts to prepare for, detect, respond to, 20 and recover from pandemics and other global out- 21 breaks of infectious disease. The Special Presidential 22 Envoy shall exercise such powers as the Secretary of 23 State may prescribe. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4118.IS S4118 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4118 IS (2) STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT.—The Special 1 Presidential Envoy shall develop, and, in coordina- 2 tion with the heads of relevant departments and 3 agencies, direct the implementation of the diplomatic 4 strategy described in section 5. 5 (f) REPORTS.— 6 (1) REPORT ON COVID–19 PANDEMIC.—Not 7 later than 30 days after the date of the enactment 8 of this Act, and quarterly thereafter, the Special 9 Presidential Envoy shall submit a report to the ap- 10 propriate congressional committees that describes 11 his or her efforts to develop and implement a diplo- 12 matic strategy comprised of the elements specified in 13 section 5 with respect to the COVID–19 pandemic. 14 (2) GENERAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 16 every 180 days thereafter, the Special Presidential 17 Envoy shall submit a report to the appropriate con- 18 gressional committees that describes his or her ef- 19 forts to develop and implement a diplomatic strategy 20 comprised of the elements specified in section 5 with 21 respect to any and all future outbreaks of infectious 22 disease or pandemics. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4118.IS S4118 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4118 IS (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 1 authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for the Office 2 of the Special Presidential Envoy to carry out this section. 3 SEC. 5. ELEMENTS OF DIPLOMATIC STRATEGY. 4 The diplomatic strategy to prepare for, detect, re- 5 spond to, and recover from pandemics and other global 6 outbreaks of infectious disease should address— 7 (1) the development of medical counter- 8 measures, including vaccines, antimicrobials, thera- 9 peutics, and diagnostics for emerging infectious dis- 10 eases; 11 (2) zoonotic disease prevention, detection, and 12 response; 13 (3) the development of disease surveillance sys- 14 tems; 15 (4) the promotion of disease reporting and 16 greater transparency of disease-related information; 17 (5) increasing the capabilities and capacity of 18 national laboratories; 19 (6) combating the spread of antimicrobial re- 20 sistant microorganisms; 21 (7) scientific workforce development and train- 22 ing; 23 (8) the mitigation of, disruptions to, and other 24 issues related to, global medical supply chains; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4118.IS S4118 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4118 IS (9) efforts to prevent the outbreak and spread 1 of infectious diseases among displaced persons and 2 other vulnerable populations; 3 (10) the development and use of standards and 4 best practices for the imposition and lifting of dis- 5 ease mitigation measures, including travel restric- 6 tions, social distancing, quarantining, and other re- 7 strictions on economic and social activities; and 8 (11) efforts to combat the spread of 9 disinformation and racial discrimination related to 10 the outbreak and spread of infectious disease. 11 SEC. 6. INTERAGENCY STEERING COMMITTEE. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, acting 13 through the Special Presidential Envoy for Pandemic Pre- 14 paredness and Response, shall regularly convene an inter- 15 agency steering committee to aid in the development, co- 16 ordination, and implementation of the diplomatic strategy 17 described in section 5. 18 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The interagency steering com- 19 mittee referred to in subsection (a)— 20 (1) should be led by the Special Presidential 21 Envoy; and 22 (2) shall include, as members— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4118.IS S4118 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4118 IS (A) the Assistant Secretary of State for 1 Oceans and International Environmental and 2 Scientific Affairs; 3 (B) the Global AIDS Coordinator and 4 United States Special Representative for Global 5 Health Diplomacy; 6 (C) any other Department of State per- 7 sonnel the Secretary considers necessary; 8 (D) the Director of the Office of Global 9 Affairs of the Department of Health and 10 Human Services; and 11 (E) at least 1 representative from each of 12 the following agencies: 13 (i) The United States Agency for 14 International Development. 15 (ii) The Department of Health and 16 Human Services. 17 (iii) The Centers for Disease Control 18 and Prevention. 19 (iv) The National Institutes of 20 Health. 21 (v) The Department of Agriculture. 22 (vi) The Department of Homeland Se- 23 curity. 24 (vii) The Department of the Treasury. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 Jul 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4118.IS S4118 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4118 IS (viii) The Department of Commerce. 1 (ix) The Office of the United States 2 Trade Representative. 3 (x) The Department of Labor. 4 (xi) The White House Office of 5 Science and Technology Policy. 6 (xii) The Office of the Director of Na- 7 tional Intelligence [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]