Sec. 201. Sense of Congress on transnational cooperation in support of pandemic preparedness and response
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/bill/116/s/3669/is/section-201·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
It is the sense of Congress that— global pandemic preparedness and response requires international and regional cooperation and action; the United States should assert strong leadership in multilateral fora such as the Group of 7, Group of 20, and the United Nations by collaborating and cooperating with other countries, international and regional organizations, and other relevant fora, including the World Health Organization, to develop a comprehensive and coordinated response to end the COVID–19 pandemic and prevent future waves of infection; the United States should exercise leadership in efforts to address the economic and financial implications of the COVID–19 pandemic, especially as it affects low and middle income countries, through the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund, and the International Finance Corporation as well as relevant regional and bilateral international financial institutions; the United States Government should engage with other countries, international and regional organizations, and other relevant fora regarding the development and distribution of global goods, including equipment, commodities, and supplies that are being used to combat COVID–19, and treatments and vaccines once they become available; the United States should lead the United Nations Security Council in adding health security as an explicit part of the mandate of the United Nations Regional Center for Preventative Diplomacy in Central Asia; the United States should recognize the critical role that regional organizations such as the Pan American Health Organization and the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention play in transnational cooperation on pandemic preparedness and response; the United States Government should coordinate closely with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and other relevant European Union entities on efforts to develop a COVID–19 vaccine and provide international assistance to developing countries confronting the pandemic; and the United States should encourage the development of organizational frameworks for pandemic health response through the C5+1 framework, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and other regional entities including the Southeast Asia One Health University Network, the Mekong Basin Disease Surveillance, and the Asia Partnership on Emerging Infectious Disease Research.