WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott introduced a bill to ensure that the World Health Organization (WHO) cannot unilaterally impose public health restrictions on the United States and violate America’s national sovereignty. The legislation comes as the World Health Assembly meets to consider a “pandemic treaty” that would aim to direct the public health decisions of U.S. states and localities, giving unprecedented power to the World Health Organization.
Senator Rick Scott said, “The WHO’s radical ‘pandemic treaty’ is a dangerous globalist overreach. The United States of America must never give more power to the WHO. The WHO is a puppet for Xi Jinping, controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, and helped Beijing cover up the origins of COVID-19. We must quickly pass this bill to ensure that public health matters in the country remain in the hands of Americans, not globalist puppets working for Communist China.”
Senator Scott’s legislation would:
- Prevent any U.S. official from treating as binding any directive or order issued from the World Health Assembly, the WHO, or its agents or branches.
- Require America’s representatives to the WHO to oppose any changes to the WHO charter unless both Houses of Congress vote to adopt the change in a joint resolution.
For years, Senator Scott has been calling for answers and accountability for the WHO:
- On June 3, 2021, Senator Rick Scott doubled down on his calls for a Congressional hearing on the origins of COVID-19 after new reports revealed the likely possibility that COVID-19 came from a lab in Wuhan.
- On May 27, 2021, Senator Scott and Senator Ron Johnson sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken requesting information on the termination of a State Department investigation into COVID-19’s origins.
- On May 20, 2021, Senator Scott joined Senators Ron Johnson, Rand Paul, James Lankford, Tom Cotton and Roger Marshall, and Rep. Mike Gallagher, in a letter to Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) requesting information on gain of function research and NIH’s 2014 moratorium on funding for that research. This request follows continued questions surrounding the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- In February 2021, Senator Scott and Senator Hawley introduced the World Health Organization (WHO) Accountability Act to hold the WHO responsible for its role in helping Communist China cover up information regarding the threat of the coronavirus. The WHO Accountability Act withholds U.S. taxpayer dollars from the WHO until the organization replaces its leadership, as of January 1, 2020, and accepts Taiwan as a member state. It also limits U.S. funding to the same or less than the top contributor nation to the WHO each year.
- On April 24, 2020, Senators Scott, Ron Johnson, Thom Tillis, Steve Daines and Kevin Cramer sent a letter to Senate Appropriations Committee leadership requesting that any funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) be withheld pending a Congressional hearing to investigate the WHO’s role in helping Communist China cover up information regarding the threat of the coronavirus.
- On April 17, 2020, Senator Scott sent a letter to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Dr. Carissa Etienne requesting additional information on PAHO’s response to the coronavirus and any coordination with the WHO and the Communist Party of China, whose efforts to cover up the pandemic cost thousands of lives around the world.
- On April 14, 2020, Senators Scott, Ron Johnson, Martha McSally, Kevin Cramer, Steve Daines, Todd Young and Joni Ernst sent a letter to the WHO requesting information ahead of a Congressional hearing to investigate the WHO’s role in helping Communist China cover up information regarding the threat of the coronavirus.
- On April 10, 2020, Senator Scott wrote an op-ed for FOX News on how the WHO should be held accountable for its role in helping Communist China cover up the coronavirus pandemic, which cost thousands of lives around the world.
- In March 2020, Senator Scott called on Congress to hold a hearing and investigate the WHO’s role in helping Communist China cover up information regarding the threat of the coronavirus.
- In February 2020, Senator Scott sent a letter to the Director-General of the WHO urging the WHO to do its own in-depth analysis on the extent of the coronavirus.