OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Letter to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House and Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader - Reps. Frankel, Rooney Lead 123 Members of Congress in Requesting Robust Funding for the International Response to COVID-19

Letter

By: Raul Grijalva, Mark DeSaulnier, Anna Eshoo, Karen Bass, Harley Rouda, Rosa DeLauro, Val Demings, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Robin Kelly, Jim McGovern, Dan Kildee, David Price, Albio Sires, Gregory Meeks, John Katko, Dwight Evans, David Cicilline, Bill Flores, Marc Veasey, Suzan DelBene, Adam Smith, Lois Frankel, Jared Huffman, Barbara Lee, Zoe Lofgren, Linda Sánchez, Diana DeGette, Jim Himes, Charlie Crist, Jr., Frederica Wilson, Jan Schakowsky, Bill Keating, Debbie Dingell, Alma Adams, Mikie Sherrill, Grace Meng, Suzanne Bonamici, Mary Scanlon, Joe Wilson, Sr., Sheila Jackson Lee, Filemon Vela, Jr., Rick Larsen, Denny Heck, Terri Sewell, Jerry McNerney, Ro Khanna, Norma Torres, Alan Lowenthal, Joe Courtney, Darren Soto, Ted Deutch, Ed Case, John Yarmuth, Jamie Raskin, G. K. Butterfield, Jr., Tom Malinowski, Dina Titus, José Serrano, Brendan Boyle, Jenniffer González-Colón, Veronica Escobar, Colin Allred, Gerry Connolly, Kim Schrier, John Garamendi, Jackie Speier, Jimmy Panetta, Gil Cisneros, Joe Neguse, Eleanor Norton, Kathy Castor, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Brad Schneider, Dutch Ruppersberger, Dean Phillips, Donald Norcross, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Nydia Velázquez, Earl Blumenauer, Chrissy Houlahan, William Timmons, Joaquin Castro, Lloyd Doggett II, Jaime Herrera Beutler, Donald Young, Ami Bera, Jim Costa, Judy Chu, Katie Porter, John Larson, Stephanie Murphy, Alcee Hastings, Sr., Sanford Bishop, Jr., Cheri Bustos, David Trone, Lacy Clay, Jr., Chris Smith, Xochitl Torres Small, Adriano Espaillat, Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Doyle, Jr., Steve Cohen, Eddie Johnson, Jennifer Wexton, Pramila Jayapal, Doris Matsui, Eric Swalwell, T.J. Cox, Mark Takano, Jason Crow, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Francis Rooney, Donna Shalala, Bill Foster, Anthony Brown, Ilhan Omar, Andy Kim, Deb Haaland, Max Rose, Peter DeFazio, Susan Wild, Jim Cooper, Sylvia Garcia, Don Beyer, Jr., Derek Kilmer
Date: July 1, 2020
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Foreign Aid Health and Health Care

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader McCarthy:

We write to request robust funding for the international response to COVID-19 be included in the next
phase of emergency funding. As we were harshly reminded when this pandemic rapidly spread from
Wuhan to Washington, infectious disease threats know no borders; as long as the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading anywhere in the world, Americans everywhere are at risk.

U.S. global leadership in combating COVID-19 is directly tied to protecting the health, security, and
economic interests of all Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 70% of the world today remains underprepared to prevent, detect, and respond to a public health emergency. With over 10 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in more than 180 countries, no matter how successful we are in fighting COVID-19 at home, we will never fully stop its spread -- or prevent it from rebounding back to our shores -- if we are not also fighting it around the world.

We also have an economic imperative to fight this disease globally. More than 50% of U.S. exports are
sold to the developing world, which means a shutdown of their economies will directly impact our own
economy. To protect American jobs and help ensure a swift economic recovery, we need to confront the dire economic and humanitarian consequences of this disease in emerging and developing markets. As we continue to compete with countries like China for global influence, we cannot risk sitting on the sidelines.

At the same time, we cannot forget that this pandemic will disproportionately impact the world's most
vulnerable -- including women and girls -- undermining decades of progress. As many as half a billion
people could be pushed into poverty and three dozen countries could experience famines in 2020, pushing an additional 130 million people to the brink of starvation.

Americans across the political spectrum overwhelmingly agree that the U.S. must lead a global response to this pandemic threat, with 79% of voters supportive of funding the State Department, USAID and our other development agencies to limit its spread around the world. We cannot afford to under-resource global foreign assistance as it is an essential component of a comprehensive COVID-19 response.

Thank you for your consideration of this urgent request. We look forward to working with you to ensure that the next phase of emergency funding to address COVID-19 includes a robust, coordinated, and sufficiently resourced international response.

Sincerely,


Source
arrow_upward