The announcement of a new COVID-19 supplemental agreement that zeroes out global resources is stunningly irresponsible when it comes to protecting the health and safety of the American people. This is simply not the time to halt America’s modest and targeted global response to the pandemic given today’s acute crises – from Ukraine and the fastest growing refugee movement since WWII to the unprecedented global food emergency to the rise of China.

The global pandemic will only continue to multiply these global threats, and American families are still vulnerable when it’s just a matter of time before a new variant reaches our shores. Given that nearly 3 billion people around the world are unvaccinated, it’s all the more disappointing that the global package failed to be included. Read more.

As leaders who served at the highest levels of military service and as regional combatant commanders who oversaw operations in Asia and the Pacific, Latin America, Africa, and the greater Middle East, we believe the ongoing threat to our national security from the global pandemic and its destabilizing impacts remains grave.

In each of our previous Areas of Responsibility, growing threats from authoritarianism, conflict, hunger, and migration are creating a world that is less stable and less friendly to our national interests. Throughout the world, our competitors and adversaries are leveraging this instability to their advantage. Read more.