America's Global Leadership During Covid-19

Floor Speech

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Mr. KEATING. Madam Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic we face today has made it abundantly clear how truly connected to one another we all are and how widely our connections span the globe. This pandemic is the greatest global challenge we have faced since World War II and cooperation has never been more important.

As Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee for Europe, Eurasia, Energy and the Environment, it has been one of my top priorities to strengthen and support our transatlantic alliance. Together, the United States and our friends and allies in Europe have worked side by side to tackle challenges while advancing democratic values. Through our NATO alliance and as members of multilateral institutions like the United Nations and the World Health Organization, we have consistently worked together to maximize our resources to address shared security threats.

Now as we face the COVID-19 pandemic, our cooperation today is more important than ever. Although it has caused many to look inward and focus on those in our own communities, it is critical to remember that the threat from COVID-19 will not end once we have flattened the curve here at home. If we fail to rally support and resources for countries struggling with COVID-19 abroad, especially developing countries and countries marred by conflict, we risk this disease once again finding its way to our shores. Beyond the disease itself, we will face threats from the security and economic conditions COVID-19 is already leaving in its wake including famine, a global recession, and heightened instability and the extremism that often follows it.

However, we must also remember that we don't have to go it alone and that in fact we are stronger in meeting our shared challenges when we work together. We can learn from each other to better understand the pathology of COVID-19 and how we may ultimately begin safely reopening our economies. We can share resources to ensure all of our medical and health personnel have access to personal protective equipment, ventilators and other medical devices, and eventually to vaccines as well. We can work together to debunk myths and combat disinformation so our communities are not misled by malign actors. Our NATO alliance is already working to coordinate these kinds of assistance and we must build on these successes to be most effective in ending this pandemic for good.

We are capable of meeting this challenge if we do so together, and for that, American leadership is crucial. We have seen American leadership raise critical resources to fight pandemics in the past and improve the effectiveness of multilateral institutions like the World Health Organization. If we cede this leadership role, we relinquish our ability to shape a safer, more secure future for all Americans, their families and friends overseas, and the myriad business and educational opportunities they have created together to grow the global economy and connect so many communities all around the world. Only together with our friends and partners, can we rise to meet this unprecedented challenge so that we may soon reunite with our loved ones, safely reopen our economies, and return to the lives we once knew.

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