Global Health Security Act of 2021

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 391, the ``Global Health Security Act,'' important legislation that reaffirms and strengthens the United States' strategic approach to global health security.

This bill directs the President to create the Global Health Security Agenda Interagency Review Council to be overseen by the National Security Advisor, elevating United States' global health security to a national security interest.

It also establishes the permanent position of the United States Coordinator for Global Health Security who will be responsible for the interagency process for responding to global health security emergencies.

Additionally, H.R. 391 creates a multilateral Fund for Global Health Security and Pandemic Preparedness to support the Global Health Security Agenda and the 70 percent of the world's countries that are unprepared and unable to respond to dangerous public health threats.

Protecting our local and global community from global health threats is imperative as the United States has already exceeded 33 million cases of COVID-19 and over 600,000 deaths.

Almost 3 million of those cases were in Texas and Harris county has the largest number with around 403,000 cases to date.

My district in Houston has suffered the loss of almost 3,000 of its citizens to the pandemic of the over 6,500 fatalities in Harris county alone.

The United States plays a vital leadership role in the international health security domain and the COVID-19 pandemic epitomizes the urgency of global health security.

The Ebola and Zika epidemics in 2013 and 2015 respectively exposed vulnerabilities in the United States' global health strategy, highlighting the need for a designated official to coordinate interagency response to global health security emergencies.

Alongside almost 30 other nations, the United States started the Global Health Security Agenda to address significant global health emergencies and threats.

As such, it is incumbent upon Congress to codify the United States' commitment to addressing global infectious disease threats by requiring the development of a sustainable and comprehensive U.S. global health strategy strengthened by measurable goals and performance metrics.

I proudly support H.R. 391 and the advancement of global health security so we can protect our communities, including my constituents in Houston.

I thank my colleague, Congressman Connolly of Virginia, for championing this bill and persisting in his effort to strengthen the United States global health policy.

I urge all Members to join me in voting to pass H.R. 391, the Global Health Security Act of 2021.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source