Last updated May 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that infectious disease threats know no borders. Now, more than ever, it is clear that what happens around the world matters here at home. Members of Congress have voiced support of America’s global leadership role in combating COVID-19 and in resourcing the State Department, USAID, and our other development agencies on the frontlines fighting this pandemic.

There is broad, bipartisan support in Congress for strategic global resources:

LEADERSHIP

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

“We are all more vulnerable to a major breakthrough variant if we do not support the numerous other countries with lower vaccination rates and fewer resources than the United States. America is the country other nations look to lead global vaccination efforts and we must continue that work. Additionally, COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine has dramatically exacerbated food insecurity around the globe.”

KEY COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP

Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee

“If ever there was a need for the United States to be an active leader in an international coalition to respond to a common threat, it is now. We simply cannot safeguard American lives without one.”

Senator Jim Risch (R-ID)
Ranking Member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee

“We know all too well that other countries’ ability to combat these kinds of deadly and contagious viruses directly impacts the health and safety of all Americans. USAID is playing a critical role in the U.S. overseas response in combating new and emerging variants that threaten our fragile progress and the livelihoods of Americans.”

Senator Chris Coons (D-DE)
Chairman, Senate State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee

“Most Americans may want to be done with COVID-19, but COVID-19 isn’t done with us—and it won’t be until we help vaccinate the rest of the world.”

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Ranking Member, Senate State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee

“More significant U.S. leadership, urgency, and accountability is essential for a more effective global response to the pandemic… It is imperative that the United States steps up similarly in the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the safety of not only its own citizens but citizens of the world.”

SENATORS

Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS), Bob Casey (D-PA), John Boozman (R-AR) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)

“As COVID-19 continues to spread here at home and around the world, it is increasingly clear that we are experiencing a global health emergency on an unprecedented scale that threatens global economic prosperity. The novel coronavirus especially threatens to frustrate efforts to reduce global hunger, rolling back hard-fought gains from the past decade and exacerbating already troubling trends in the last three years. This will ultimately have direct impacts on the economic and security interests of the United States.”

Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)

“Nearly two years into the coronavirus pandemic, our health care system is strained and our health care workers overworked. We need to put more resources toward addressing this crisis in the U.S. while increasing equitable vaccine access globally.”

Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA)

“The U.S. vaccine diplomacy in the world has been extremely successful. And this bears on a matter we’re talking about now, whether in a COVID bill, we should do more vaccine diplomacy in the world.”

Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT)

“Our experience with coronavirus has exposed some glaring gaps in our nation’s capacity to respond to a pandemic, and it is critical that we are better prepared to coordinate global responses and exert leadership to address future health threats.”

Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)

“Our country is safer and better equipped to combat this virus if we work with our international partners to lead a coordinated, global response to this pandemic. The international community must address COVID-19 in countries where weak health systems aren’t able to respond to the full scope of this crisis, which means more loss of life and a failure to prevent further spread of this virus…I’ll continue to call for a U.S.-led global response to COVID-19 as Congress responds to this pandemic.”

Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS)

“Supporting international efforts to curb the COVID-19 pandemic helps to save lives & ensures the U.S. does not backslide on previous investments. It also protects the American people by helping to identify health emergencies early, before they become a global problem.”

Senator Ed Markey (D-MA)

“We’ve called for inclusion of a substantial global COVID-19 response funding in any COVID-19 supplemental… We just can’t afford to keep repeating history… We just cannot allow this Congress to not fund a global vaccination program.”

Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Tina Smith (D-MN) co-sponsor a Bipartisan Amendment to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to consider redistributing expiring vaccines to foreign countries

Senator Cassidy: “Increasing global access to the COVID vaccine is vital to U.S. economic and national security… Our amendment ensures the United States is at the forefront of global vaccine distribution and supply.”

Senator Smith: “Expanding worldwide access to COVID-19 vaccines is central to ending the pandemic… This amendment will take important steps towards slowing the spread of this virus, allowing the United States to improve COVID-19 vaccine access for low- and middle-income countries, and leading the world out of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Democratic Letter to Vaccine Manufacturers 

“Vaccines represent the world’s best hope at containing the COVID-19 pandemic, but our goals for effectively responding to the pandemic will remain out of reach unless we successfully ramp up our global vaccination effort and get more shots in arms as quickly as possible.”

Democratic letter to vaccine manufacturers signed by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Rony Wyden (D-OR) 

Bipartisan Letter to Senate Leadership

“America’s ability to invest in global health programs has always been about both saving lives and catalyzing global movements. This U.S. vaccine diplomacy has saved lives and is the right thing to do but is also in our own strategic geopolitical and national security interests… Failure to immediately provide robust resources will mean our agencies will not have the resources they need to save lives and respond to new COVID-19 variants. Failure to confront these challenges risks destabilization and threatens U.S. national security. The longer we wait, the more costly our global response will become — in both lives and dollars.”

Bipartisan letter to Senate Leadership signed by Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Susan Collins (R-ME), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ed Markey (D-MA), Brian Schatz (D-HI)

LEADERSHIP

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

“I think we need all the money we can get to have the resources that we need to fight COVID. The last thing we need is another variant… we need the money to buy the pills. The pills exist. The science is there, [and] there’s a market out there as well, beyond the U.S., and we have a responsibility to other countries.”

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)

“We can do great things. We want to defeat the virus, not just for the nation but for the world.”

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD)

“A global challenge requires a global response, which is why we must work across borders to protect our planet and safeguard the most vulnerable from climate change and natural disasters…It’s why we must also push for America to work in concert with the rest of the world in combatting coronavirus and ensuring that critical, life-saving resources are available to all those who need them.”

KEY COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY)
Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Committee

“I commend the Administration’s ongoing partnership with, and its progress on, global COVID-19 vaccine distribution. In Africa and elsewhere, the US must continue to be a leader in closing gaps in vaccine access and equity.”

Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX)
Ranking Member, House Foreign Affairs Committee

“Our world is facing significant challenges. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is still wreaking havoc around the world. Rising instability and political turmoil have become the new norm.”

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
Chairwoman, House Appropriations Committee

“COVID is not just a domestic challenge. It’s a global challenge and the United States need to contribute to that solution… that includes providing as many vaccines as quickly as possible to other countries.”

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Chairwoman, House State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee

“The U.S. has been a leader in the global fight against COVID. We’ll never eradicate this pandemic without continued meaningful investment in global vaccine distribution and equity. I will keep fighting to meet the public health needs of our global community.”

REPRESENTATIVES

Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY)

“Unleashing biomedical innovation in the United States is critical in saving lives and maintaining our global competitiveness. We saw how important it was to invest in creating new treatments during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we need to carry that momentum into the future.”

Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA)

“It is gravely disappointing that the house is stripping $15 billion in COVID funding from the budget. The funds would be used to prepare for and prevent future variants and to help other countries vaccinate their populations.”

Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH)

“The coronavirus is reminding us that diseases and their impacts know no borders, making it critical that the United States show leadership during the pandemic, and also afterwards to get the global economy back on track as well as prepare for the next outbreak. There is no reason to assume there will not be future outbreaks, and, as the world becomes more interconnected, we need to be prepared so that the next outbreak does not become a pandemic like the coronavirus.”

Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO)

“During times of crisis, it has been the United States that has stepped into the void to provide a path forward. This is a global moment that requires the mantle of bold leadership that our nation has assumed in the past…We are strongest when we are united with our allies against a common foe, and there is no more ubiquitous enemy than the scourge of a pandemic. This is a moment when the world needs American leadership.”

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-FL)

“Unfortunately, this will not be the last contagious and deadly virus our world will battle and confront, which is why it is of the utmost importance our country continues to be a leader in global health.”

Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC)

“While we have our primary responsibilities here at home, it is imperative we continue to help our international friends and partners…the United States will continue to support our allies and provide considerable assistance to public health worldwide.”

Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI)

“Fighting the coronavirus requires international collaboration, following science and listening to health experts. The only way we will defeat this global pandemic is through an informed citizenry and a coordinated international response. The coronavirus knows no borders. The United States has the most coronavirus cases in the world, and we need support from all nations to defeat this invisible enemy.”

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY)

“We must fight this virus globally or else emerging variants will threaten hard fought progress.”

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)

“We must not turn our back on the world. We must put aside our grievances and work toward the common good, to find a common solution. This pandemic is clear, tragic evidence that the outlook that favors international cooperation over isolationism, institutions over improvisation, is not just more moral but safer. Just as the ravages of this terrible disease know no borders, neither must the cure. Our national interest and our moral duty are one and the same. Now is the time. It is clearer now than ever that our destinies are linked, and that we are all in this together.”

Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA)

“It is a public health and national security imperative that we act now to ensure we are better prepared to identify and respond to future deadly pathogens.”

Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL)

“This Covid-19 pandemic shows we have to be concerned about global health. This didn’t start here, but it’s here, and look at the impact it has had. Global partnerships are important, but we must hold their feet to the fire on performing correctly.”

Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN)

“Minimizing the spread of the coronavirus is not a zero-sum game. Rather, Americans win when the whole world wins. As we all know, pandemics know no borders, and the novel coronavirus is no different. The world looks to the United States for leadership, and we must be prepared to work with our global partners in order to protect Americans at home and abroad…In an increasingly interconnected world, it will take international partnerships to fight against this pandemic.”

Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ)

“Developing vaccines and treatments for emerging infectious diseases is not just an issue of individual health but a national one. It’s important to national security, including economic security.”

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA)

“We must use this opportunity to reinforce the value of U.S. global leadership and make the case for strengthened investments in global health and development. If anything, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a stark reminder that these investments are critical to protecting the health, economic, and security interests of the U.S.”

Bipartisan Resolution introduced by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) to prioritize children in the global pandemic response

Rep. Jacobs: “The last two years have been devastating for the world, and we must do everything we can to ensure the needs of children are prioritized as we rebuild from the pandemic.

Rep. Fitzpatrick: “Underserved youth cannot be left out of the equation as the world begins to rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic. I am proud to join Rep. Jacobs in urging the United States to increase support to organizations like UNICEF, Education Cannot Wait, and the Global Partnership for Education, who are our allies in the mission to ensure that every child has access to educational opportunities and vital health care services.”

Covid-19 Global Vaccination Caucus

“We remain gravely concerned that a failure to prioritize global vaccination could allow the emergence of future variants that will threaten our own national security, lives around the world, and undermine the American business recovery… we strongly urge that any additional COVID-19 supplemental funding or package include the global COVID-19 response.”