WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), along with every other Senate Republican, joined Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) in calling for the Biden administration to withdraw its support for two international agreements being considered at this month’s World Health Assembly (WHA) that would grant greater authority to the dysfunctional World Health Organization (WHO) and potentially weaken United States sovereignty.

“Some of the over 300 proposals for amendments made by member states would substantially increase the WHO’s health emergency powers and constitute intolerable infringements upon U.S. sovereignty…The WHO’s failure during the COVID-19 pandemic was as total as it was predictable and did lasting harm to our country,” the senators wrote.

“Moving forward with a new pandemic preparedness and response treaty ignores the fact that we are still unsure of COVID-19’s origins because Beijing continues to block a legitimate independent investigation. We strongly urge you not to join any pandemic related treaty, convention, or agreement being considered at the Seventy-seventh WHA. Should you ignore this advice, we state in the strongest possible terms that we consider any such agreement to be a treaty requiring the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senate under Article II Section 2 of the Constitution,” they continued. 

The senators went on to argue that the president should be focusing on badly needed reforms rather than plowing ahead with international treaties and regulations that would substantially increase WHO authority, shred intellectual property rights and infringe freedom of speech. 

The full letter can be found here.