America's Global Leadership During Covid-19
Floor Speech
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Ms. FRANKEL. Madam Speaker, in my travels around the world as a Member of Congress one thing has become abundantly clear. Advancing prosperity and stability internationally is not just a moral imperative, it's a national imperative--because instability anywhere is a threat to stability everywhere.
Human rights violations, terrorism, and infectious diseases don't stop at the border. We have seen that tragic reality reinforced through genocide, international terrorism, and global pandemics.
So what is the lesson as we fight COVID-19?
No matter how successful we are in combatting this pandemic here at home, we will never fully stop it unless we also combat it around the world. After all, we saw COVID-19 jump from Wuhan, to Westminster, to West Palm, in a matter of weeks. Outbreaks in remote villages don't stay in remote villages. According to the CDC, 70 percent of the world remains underprepared to prevent, detect, and respond to any public health emergency.
So while there is still so much more we need to do domestically to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of the American public, part of that effort needs to focus on U.S. global leadership to fight this disease and future pandemics.
America remains the world's most critical defender of human rights and prosperity around the globe. And that role is needed now more than ever.
Before this pandemic, millions were already fleeing war and persecution in countries around the world, including the devastating impacts in Syria. And COVID-19 is now a force multiplier, increasing the risk of violence, displacement, hunger, and suffering.
It is crucial that we support the State Department, USAID, the World Health Organization, and others on the frontlines responding to this pandemic and advancing American interests around the world every day.
More emergency funding is needed for the International Affairs Budget to support the global response to combat this pandemic.
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