American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, as chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I speak in support of the international provisions of the American Rescue Plan.

Pandemics do not respect international borders. COVID-19 won't end in America until it is brought under control around the world. The $10 billion included in this package for international support are a small, yet critical, investment in fighting COVID and its effects around the world.

This portion of the bill prioritizes global health, providing more that $4.6 billion to relieve overburdened healthcare systems and medical workers, and helping governments and multilateral partners develop and distribute vaccines.

To address the humanitarian crises exacerbated by this pandemic, the American Rescue Plan provides funding for lifesaving assistance, including shelter, food, clean water, and basic medical care. It also provides COVID-related relief to refugees, who are already among the most vulnerable; and to our multilateral partners, such as the World Food Program and UNICEF, who can leverage their other partners and their global reach to maximize these dollars.

These provisions would also provide nearly $1 billion in flexible funding for economic support to help ensure that even more need isn't created as a result of the economic impacts of COVID, which are already severe.

It will support our diplomats and development professionals, enabling them to scale up and adapt to the pandemic, and continue to serve Americans and our country's interests around the world.

The Foreign Affairs provisions represent approximately \1/2\ of 1 percent of the overall package. These funds support America's foreign commitments to the poorest nations least able to tackle the pandemic.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source